How to Automate Medicaid Portal Data Export (No API Required)

Introduction

State Medicaid portals are the web interfaces used by Medicaid beneficiaries and providers to access eligibility information, claims history, prior authorizations, and benefit details. Because Medicaid is administered by each state (and often through managed care plans), these portals vary by state and typically offer limited or no public API access. Browser automation can serve as an effective alternative for exporting claims data, pulling eligibility and prior-auth reports, and automating healthcare data collection workflows when direct API access is unavailable.

Why Use Browser Automation for Medicaid Portal Data Export?

• Limited API Access: State Medicaid and managed care portals rarely expose public APIs for members or providers
• Dashboard-Only Features: Eligibility letters, claims reports, and prior authorization status are often only available in the portal
• Historical Data: Access older claims and service history beyond what portals allow via manual export
• Custom Reports: Generate reports by date range, provider, service type, or member
• Prior Authorization Tracking: Automate collection of prior auth status and approval letters
• Eligibility Verification: Extract current eligibility periods, plan details, and benefit summaries
• Multi-State or Multi-Plan: Scale data collection across different state portals or MCO portals

Setting Up Medicaid Portal Data Export Automation

Here's how to automate data collection from a Medicaid portal using browser automation:

import { chromium } from 'playwright';

const response = await fetch("https://api.anchorbrowser.io/api/sessions", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "anchor-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    'headless': false,
    'proxy': {
      'type': 'residential',
      'country': 'US'
    }
  }),
});

const { id } = await response.json();
const connectionString = `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY&sessionId=${id}`;

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(connectionString);
const context = browser.contexts()[0];
const ai = context.serviceWorkers()[0];
const page = context.pages()[0];

// Navigate to your state Medicaid member or provider portal
await page.goto("https://portal.medicaid.state.example.gov");

// Login with AI agent
await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
  prompt: 'Log in to the Medicaid portal using the provided credentials. Wait for the dashboard to fully load.'
}));

Exporting Claims Data

Automate the export of claims data from the Medicaid portal:

const exportMedicaidClaims = async (page, ai, dateRange) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to the Claims or Claims History section'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Set the date filter to ${dateRange.start} to ${dateRange.end}`
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Click Export or Download, select CSV or Excel format, and wait for the download to complete.'
  }));
  
  const download = await page.waitForEvent('download');
  const path = await download.path();
  
  return path;
};

Collecting Eligibility Information

Extract Medicaid eligibility and plan details:

const collectMedicaidEligibility = async (page, ai) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to the Eligibility or My Coverage section'
  }));
  
  const eligibilityData = await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Extract eligibility information including: member ID, eligibility period, plan name, managed care organization (MCO), benefit package, and coverage type. Return as structured JSON data.'
  }));
  
  return eligibilityData;
};

Prior Authorization Status and Documents

Automate collection of prior authorization status and approval documents:

const exportPriorAuthData = async (page, ai, dateRange) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to the Prior Authorization or Authorizations section'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Filter by date range ${dateRange.start} to ${dateRange.end}`
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Export the list of prior authorizations and download any approval letters or PDFs'
  }));
  
  const download = await page.waitForEvent('download');
  return await download.path();
};

Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and Remittance

Download EOBs or remittance advice from the portal:

const exportMedicaidEOB = async (page, ai, dateRange) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to the Explanation of Benefits or Remittance / EOB section'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Filter by date range ${dateRange.start} to ${dateRange.end}`
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Select all EOBs or remittance documents in the date range and download them as PDFs'
  }));
  
  const download = await page.waitForEvent('download');
  return await download.path();
};

Prescription and Pharmacy Data

Collect pharmacy claims or prescription history when available in the portal:

const exportMedicaidPrescriptions = async (page, ai) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to the Pharmacy or Prescription History section'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Export prescription history including medication names, dates, pharmacies, and cost information'
  }));
  
  const download = await page.waitForEvent('download');
  return await download.path();
};

Best Practices for Medicaid Portal Automation

• Security: Use secure credential storage and support 2FA or state-specific login flows
• HIPAA and State Rules: Ensure data handling meets HIPAA and your state’s Medicaid data use requirements
• Rate Limiting: Add delays between requests to avoid lockouts or security flags
• State and MCO Differences: Scripts may need state- or plan-specific selectors and flows
• Error Handling: Implement retries for transient failures and session timeouts
• Regular Updates: Medicaid portals change often; monitor UI changes and update automation accordingly

Handling Medicaid Portal Authentication

State Medicaid portals often use state identity providers or MCO login pages. Example flow:

const handleMedicaidAuth = async (page, ai, credentials, portalUrl) => {
  await page.goto(portalUrl);
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Enter username: ${credentials.username} and password: ${credentials.password}, then click Login`
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'If identity verification or security questions appear, answer them using the provided security answers'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'If 2FA or OTP is required, wait for the code and enter it, or choose "Remember this device" if offered'
  }));
  
  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
};

Resources

• Anchor Browser Documentation - Complete API reference and guides
• Anchor Browser Playground - Try browser automation in your browser

Conclusion

Browser automation provides a flexible alternative to API access for Medicaid portal data export. By using browser automation, you can automate eligibility checks, claims exports, prior authorization tracking, and EOB retrieval across state and MCO portals that don’t offer public APIs. With attention to HIPAA and state compliance, you can streamline Medicaid-related data workflows and reporting.

Start automating your Medicaid portal data collection and simplify your healthcare data workflows.