Delaware Launch & Connectathon — what happened
July 13, 2026 · University of Delaware + virtual · more than 200 participants, in person and online.
What happened
Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro and Health Care Commission Chair Dr. Neil Hockstein opened the launch, joined by DHIN CEO Dr. Jan Lee and Smart Health Network CEO Paul Meyer — followed by an end-to-end electronic prior-authorization demonstration and business and technical working tracks with the payers, providers, health systems, vendors, and HIEs in the room and online.
- The first health plan connected — onboarded over launch weekend and testing prior-authorization workflows through the shared network path.
- Self-service worked in the wild — a state HIE connected straight to the hub and began transacting without a call, a meeting, or hand-holding.
- Providers, networks, and HIEs are connecting — sandbox signups and gateway connections continued through the day, every lifecycle event signed into the audit chain.
Said plainly: everything demonstrated and tested ran on synthetic data — no PHI, no production transactions. That’s the point of a Connectathon: prove the path before production agreements, credentials, and launch checks are required.
Watch: LIFERS with Christina Farr — “Healthcare sends 9 billion faxes a year. Delaware has a better idea” → · Event recording: request it here.
What’s next
Every release gets a proof event. The national CMS-0057 readiness Connectathon is October 14 (with state satellite sites), and the Claims & Remittance Connectathon is January 13, 2027. The best preparation is to start before the next one: the sandbox is self-service, on synthetic data, and free.
The day: full agenda (as held)
The Delaware Electronic Prior Authorization Connectathon was a launch & demonstration day — Monday, July 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET, at the University of Delaware — STAR Campus (Audion), 540 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19713. In person & virtual.
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 9:00–10:00 | Coffee & networking — check in and meet the payers, providers, health systems, and partners in the room. |
| 10:00–11:00 | Delaware Smart Health Network Launch — welcome and call to participate: Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro · Health Care Commission Chair Dr. Neil Hockstein · DHIN CEO Dr. Jan Lee · Smart Health Network CEO Paul Meyer. Followed by a fireside chat on what prior authorization costs patients and clinicians today — and a first look at the network in action. |
| 11:00–12:00 | Smart Health Network — a deeper dive — electronic prior authorization running end-to-end on the network; how it works, the CMS-0057 suite, and the road ahead. |
| 12:00–1:00 | Networking lunch |
| 1:00–3:00 | Breakouts — business & technical tracks. Business: the opportunity, how to connect, what it takes. Technical: see it work — hands-on and watch-and-learn; no software required to follow along. |
| 3:00–3:45 | Report-outs, insights & panel with the Smart Health Network team. |
| 3:45–4:00 | Next steps to launch — the road to January 1, 2027, and how to reserve your place. |
| 4:00–5:00 | Reception |
Participants took part three ways on the day: bringing endpoints and testing against the live sandbox; running the Local Test Kit on synthetic data; or watching the workflows demonstrated end to end. No one needed to deploy infrastructure to take part — and the same three paths remain open, self-service, ahead of October 14.
What you can do now
Start with the free CMS-0057 Readiness Check — a per-scenario pass/fail run across all eight prior-authorization use cases, so you can see exactly where your APIs stand before the January 1, 2027 deadline. The full green/yellow/red conformance report against the pinned Da Vinci IG profiles is coming next.
- 1
Run the readiness check. Deploy the Smart Gateway and run all eight Da Vinci prior-authorization use cases end to end — a per-scenario pass/fail readiness check, with results in your Kit dashboard.
- 2
Test the January prior-authorization path using synthetic data. Run the Da Vinci prior-authorization flow plus eligibility checks, end to end across the SHN Gateway and Hub — Connectathon-style testing aligned to Da Vinci implementation-guide workflows, the day before the national CMS FHIR Connectathon (July 14–16).
- 3
Leave with launch-cohort readiness evidence. Passing the readiness check shows per-scenario technical readiness. Production activation will require executed participation agreements, production credentials, and completed launch checks — a promotion process being finalized with launch participants ahead of January 1.
The work your systems already do for CMS-0057 and Da Vinci makes you ready to connect — and one network relationship supports the published transaction set as each capability activates. Connect once, reach every enabled, authorized counterparty.
Want the recording, or to follow what comes next? Leave your details and we’ll keep you posted on the October 14 and January 13 Connectathons and the releases they prove out.
Questions in the meantime? Reach us at partners@smarthealthnetwork.org.
Every release gets a proof event — the national CMS-0057 readiness Connectathon (October 14, with state satellite sites) and the Claims & Remittance Connectathon (January 13, 2027) follow. Details coming soon.
The connectathon is organized and led by Smart Health Network, with support from DHIN. — Cut Paperwork, Not Care.