Launching a Medicaid Program Website With High Stakes & Tight Deadlines

When Renaissance won the contract to manage dental benefits for Tennessee’s Medicaid program, TennCare, it faced a formidable challenge. With only seven months to stand up a TennCare-compliant program for 1.6 million members, Renaissance needed to move fast. Leveraging its parent company’s extensive Medicaid experience, the team partnered with Responsory to navigate state requirements, legal reviews and accessibility standards — turning a massive, time-sensitive effort into a successful launch.

Winning the TennCare contract was a major milestone for Renaissance Benefits — a chance to grow its footprint by serving 1.6 million TennCare members with comprehensive dental coverage. But this opportunity came with urgent and tough challenges.

First, the timeline was non-negotiable. To maintain contractual compliance, Renaissance needed to launch a fully functional program website by October 1, leaving less than seven months to go from concept to completion.

Second, the site had to do much more than look professional. It needed to meet strict requirements for security, accessibility and performance — every page had to pass state-level scrutiny, legal review and a VPAT audit. This meant balancing regulatory demands with the practical need to provide an intuitive, user-friendly experience for members.

Finally, Renaissance was creating a TennCare-specific program from the ground up. The team needed to design new processes, content and systems tailored to the needs of a large, diverse Medicaid population — including clear, accessible digital resources members depend on to navigate their benefits.

With high stakes, limited time and new territory to navigate, Renaissance needed a partner it could trust to guide them through the challenge and deliver a solution that would meet state requirements, while serving members effectively from day one.

Renaissance turned to Responsory to help make the TennCare website a reality. Our teams already had a strong working relationship, which made it easy to jump in quickly and work side-by-side with Renaissance’s internal project group. They managed communications with the State of Tennessee, while we focused on building, refining and delivering exactly what was needed, when it was needed.

To keep things moving, we used Renaissance’s corporate site as a starting point. From there, we customized the design, content and structure to meet the unique requirements of TennCare members. Along the way, we served as both a builder and a sounding board — helping the Renaissance team navigate tight timelines and tough Medicaid requirements.

In the end, Responsory wasn’t just a vendor; we were an extension of Renaissance’s team. By working together so closely, we were able to launch a compliant, accessible and scalable site right on schedule, giving TennCare’s 1.6 million members a resource they could count on.

By September 30, the TennCare dental site was live — ready to serve 1.6 million members on day one and fully compliant with every requirement in the state contract. Renaissance and Responsory hit the October 1 deadline right on schedule, proving that even the toughest timelines can be met with the right partnership.

Key outcomes included:

• Confidence in Compliance: Legal reviews, VPAT audits and accessibility certifications were all passed without major revisions.
• Trust at Every Level: Renaissance met its obligations to the State, strengthening its credibility as a Medicaid partner.
• Operational Readiness: The collaborative process gave Renaissance’s internal teams a roadmap for managing future government programs.
• Member-First Impact: TennCare members gained a simple, trustworthy place to learn about and access their dental benefits right from launch day.

With a proven digital foundation in place, Renaissance is now positioned to grow with confidence and continue delivering for members and partners alike.