As states move from health IT modernization pilots to enterprise-scale execution, questions around data governance, AI readiness, and cross-agency interoperability are becoming central to Medicaid and HHS strategy. These themes will be front and center at the 16th Annual 2026 State HIT Connect Summit, taking place on February 23-26, in New Orleans.  

The Summit brings together senior leaders from state Medicaid agencies, HHS divisions, and the broader health IT community. What makes this year different is how modernization efforts are evolving amid shifting policy priorities and financial constraints. The conversation is less about system replacement. We expect to hear more about how states can operationalize trusted, person-centered platforms that organize information around patients rather than siloed programs. 

Orion Health will be listening for how states and health information exchanges plan to move from fragmented data environments to governed, AI-ready data foundations. We see health organizations struggling to unify data across programs and partners and maintain the governance and transparency required in public sector environments. This perspective aligns closely with key Summit tracks, including AI-Powered Transformation, Governance and Responsible Data Use, and Medicaid and HHS Modernization. 

Orion Health supports states in advancing enterprise data enablement. That means going beyond data exchange alone to create longitudinal, person-centered views with a platform like Amadeus AI that can be used across Medicaid, public health, behavioral health, and managed care programs. 

What We’re Listening for at State HIT Connect 2026 

Orion Health team members attending the summit include James Henderson, SVP & General Manager, Braydon Harwood, VP Category Growth, and Casey Silverthorn, VP Delivery & Operations. The team is focused on discussions around: 

  • How states plan to sequence modernization 
  • AI governance as an enabler, not a blocker 
  • How Medicaid and HHS leaders are planning for long-term data platforms amid funding and policy uncertainty 

According to James Henderson, SVP & General Manager, US: 
“Modernization efforts are clearly evolving beyond replacing individual systems toward building long-term, enterprise data foundations. I’m looking forward to conversations with state Medicaid and HHS leaders about how governance, interoperability, and person-centered data platforms can help operationalize AI responsibly, and what it will take to support these capabilities at scale in a changing policy and funding environment.” 

If you’ll be attending the Summit and are interested in discussing health IT modernization, or AI-ready data platforms, we welcome the opportunity to connect and compare perspectives. 

The most important conversations this year won’t be about new systems, but about what it takes to make data usable, trusted, and sustainable over time.