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Dear HCMACS Program partners,
The HCMACS Program reached a major milestone with the Governor’s signing of the 2026 Supplemental Budget on April 1, 2026, providing important clarity on funding, program direction, and the implementation path forward. We are grateful for the funding and executive support to advance care coordination and case management through an enterprise solution for Washingtonians.
This update reflects both the progress made and the focused work ahead as we move into a critical planning and mobilization period.
Budget Highlights and Program Direction
The signed budget provides $48.7 million for SFY26 and $69.6 million for SFY27 across the HCMACS Program and related Department of Social and Health Services, (DSHS), Department of Corrections (DOC), and Health Care Authority (HCA) project efforts, supported by a blend of state and Medicaid funding.
The foundational program remains within HCA, with no EHR-related budget allocated to the University of Washington. Funding is secured through SFY27 with future decision packages anticipated for the 2028–2029 biennium. The target go-live date shifted to March 2028 (from August 2027), aligning scope, funding, and readiness realities.
During legislative briefings, it was reinforced that current funding levels align with previously approved technology budgets (Gate 4/10) but do not represent formal legislative endorsement of a specific hosting or implementation approach.
Governor’s Partial Veto: Increased Flexibility and Support for Epic Hosting Approach
The Governor’s partial veto provides meaningful flexibility and direction for the program which effectively removed a key administrative barrier and signals support for the Epic hosting and implementation approach from the Executive Branch. Additional veto language increased flexibility to manage spending across fiscal years within the biennium, reducing administrative burden and allowing better alignment to project realities.
Collectively, these actions position the program to move forward with greater agility while maintaining accountability.
Updated Timeline and Implementation Phasing
The program has established an updated implementation timeline that continues to reflect a structured, phased approach:
- 2026 (Phase 0: Readiness & Pre-Work)
- Finalize scope, schedule, and budget updates
- Advance CMS approvals
- Complete foundational system and user readiness activities
- 2027 (Phases 1 & 2: Configuration and Training Preparation)
- Workflow walkthroughs and system configuration
- System readiness and training preparation
- Begin formal user training and go-live preparation
- 2028 (Phases 3–5: Go-Live and Optimization)
- Go-live targeted for Q1 2028
- Post-live support and optimization
- Future rollout waves (timing TBD)
- CMS certification anticipated later in 2028
To stay on track, the next 9 months represent a critical window to ensure readiness for configuration beginning in January 2027. Key dependencies include contract execution, governance approvals, CMS approval, third-party coordination, staffing, and environment readiness.
Near-Term Priorities (April–June 2026)
The program is now focused on a set of near-term priorities that are essential to maintaining momentum. Activities include:
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Program and project planning: Validating facility and application scope for Wave 1, updating and rebaselining the integrated program schedule in Jira, as well as refreshing technology budgets and the enterprise EHR roadmap.
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Epic contracting and procurement: Reviewing and finalizing the contract with Epic to include hosting, preparing for CMS submission by end of May and initiating procurement for third-party applications and services.
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Third-party and data strategy: Validating scope and requirements for third-party vendors, establishing processes for data governance and system/data readiness, and beginning procurement activities for facilitated third-party solutions.
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Resourcing and staffing: Finalizing resourcing plans aligned to the revised hosting and implementation approach, initiating staff augmentation and hiring for key roles, onboarding implementation team resources in alignment with timeline milestones.
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System and user readiness: Completing end-user device inventories, advancing hosting and infrastructure readiness, and refreshing governance activation and super user readiness plans.
Looking Ahead
The program is entering a highly focused execution phase, where alignment across agencies, timely decision-making, and disciplined planning will be critical to success. The upcoming in-person working sessions in Olympia (week of April 13) will play a key role in advancing detailed planning across workstreams, aligning leadership and technical teams, and finalizing critical path activities required for 2026.
To prepare for this transformative effort, we are launching program-level change management efforts. This includes conducting a baseline assessment and developing a high-level plan for managing the change. Please keep your eye out for the first baseline change management assessment survey next week. The survey will come from HCAHCMACSProgram@hca.wa.gov. Your input is invaluable in helping us provide the necessary tools and information for a successful implementation. Moving from paper or hybrid systems will not be easy- but patients and clients will be safer and healthier as a result. Change can be hard, but if we work together we can achieve our goals to deliver coordinated care using Epic as our enterprise EHR.
With funding secured, governance clarified, and a realistic timeline in place, the HCMACS program is well-positioned to move forward with purpose and momentum toward a successful 2028 go-live.
Sincerely,
Carrie Yasemin Paykoc
HCMACS Executive Program Director
Enterprise Technology Services
office: 360-790-4790 | cell: 360-725-9715
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HCMACS Program Executive Steering Committee Meetings
April 6
April 27
HHS Coalition Governance G2 Meetings
April 10
HCMACS Weekly PMO Workgroup
Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m.
Thursdays at noon
HCMACS Weekly Program Technical and Data Workgroup
Tuesdays at 1 p.m., resuming April 28
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HCMACS Biweekly Budget Workgroup
April 8
April 22
HCMACS Biweekly Communications Meetings
April 9
April 23
HCMACS Financial Leadership Meetings
April 6
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Next week, we will be launching a baseline Organizational Change Management (OCM) assessment survey—the first in a series that will be conducted throughout the program implementation and go-live to track our progress over time.
This initial survey is critical in establishing a starting point for how prepared we are for the changes ahead, including awareness of the initiative, understanding of upcoming changes, leadership support, communication effectiveness, and overall readiness to adopt new processes and systems.
Your feedback will help shape our change strategy, allowing us to identify gaps early, target support where it’s needed most, and measure improvement as the program progresses.
Please look for the email from HCAHCMACSProgram@hca.wa.gov and share your thoughts.
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Over the past month, the HCMACS Program has focused on strengthening execution readiness and advancing the foundation for implementation. A key area of progress has been the transition of integrated project plans into Jira, enabling improved visibility, coordination, and active management of work across program and agency teams. This transition supports more consistent tracking of milestones, dependencies, and deliverables as planning efforts accelerate.
In parallel, the program has worked to ensure a clear and shared understanding of near-term critical path priorities, with targeted efforts to advance these activities in alignment with the updated implementation timeline. Teams have collaborated closely to refine sequencing and ensure that priority workstreams are positioned to meet upcoming milestones.
Significant progress has also been made in the development of a comprehensive, integrated project plan, including the identification and alignment of key dependencies across functional and technical areas. This work is helping to establish a more cohesive view of how activities interrelate and where coordination is required to support timely execution.
Additionally, the program has advanced work to finalize contract scope, ensuring alignment across stakeholders and preparing for next steps in procurement and implementation. Together, these efforts position the program to move forward with greater clarity, coordination, and readiness in the months ahead.
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Department of Corrections updates
The Department of Corrections project team have been reviewing the signed budget and evaluating impacts with our internal partners. After a planned pause in March our Cross Functional Leadership Team will resume meetings in April. Also this month, the project team will begin a second round of impact assessments with IT, Research Data Analysts and the governance team. Health Services was interviewed in detail in 2025.
A newly onboarded business analyst is now collaborating with the project team and functional leaders on key analysis activities. The project team is interviewing for a clinical informaticist also. In parallel, the team continues to gather data from County Jails to better understand how data exchange may be affected by the EHR implementation.
On the communications front, the first of four planned awareness videos was distributed on March 22, 2026 to all of DOC’s Health Services Staff highlighting the important role staff play in shaping a successful EHR rollout.
DSHS updates
The DSHS EHR Project Team is making steady progress in collaboration with HCMACS. Our focus remains on detailed planning for the upcoming phases of work. We are finalizing project planning for the second and third quarters using Jira, while also improving essential tools such as Gantt charts, dashboards, and dependency tracking. These enhancements aim to boost program visibility and execution. We are refining the overall project schedule to align with the guidance provided by the approved FY27 budget and actively supporting HCMACS's Project Management Office (PMO) sessions to further develop the implementation plan and timeline.
Our project team is dedicated to ensuring that we have the right resources and support in place. We are planning for key roles, including the Training Manager, Third-Party Manager, and Vendor Manager positions, with hiring timelines aligned with the updated HCMACS EHR Plan. We are engaging in ongoing discussions with Human Resources to establish a clear labor relations approach in partnership with HCMACS.
On the communications and organizational change management (OCM) front, we are analyzing the March DSHS internal survey results to tailor our engagement strategies to better inform facility staff and update FAQs on the EHR Project Hub. We continue to collaborate with facility communications, OCM, and continuous improvement staff. In addition, we are preparing for April town halls and project updates, and we will be conducting readiness assessments in partnership with the HCMACS OCM vendor.
Readiness efforts remain a central focus as we move towards our March 2028 go-live date for Wave 1 facilities: Eastern State Hospital, Western State Hospital (including Steilacoom Unit and Child Study Treatment Center), and the new forensic hospital. Current activities include identifying subject matter experts and decision-makers for upcoming Epic councils and workgroups. We are maintaining readiness activities in alignment with the HCMACS roadmap and reviewing third-party applications to determine whether they should be renewed, replaced, or retired. Internal DSHS workgroups are advancing standardization efforts across the organization. Additionally, we are planning critical infrastructure components, such as EHR-related Wi-Fi enhancements and hardware procurement, in close collaboration with the Behavioral Health and Human Services IT team.
HCA updates
HCA has updated its sponsor representation on the HCMACS Executive Steering Committee. New appointees include HCA Director Ryan Moran as HCMACS Program Executive Sponsor, Mike Barabe as HCA Project G2 Representative, and Dr. Judy Zerzan as HCA Project Clinical Representative. These updates are intended to support continued alignment, decision-making, and program oversight as implementation planning progresses.
The HCA Project Steering Committee will reconvene on April 21 to relaunch governance and discuss any potential updates to the program’s approach, scope, and schedule.
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Health Care Management and Coordination System (HCMACS) is an integrated, enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record (EHR) solution that will help unify care delivery across multiple state agencies, Tribes, public health institutions, and community-based providers.
Check out our Roadmap to learn more about the implementation and approach.
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