09/16/2024

Medicaid Health Plan Changes starting October 1, 2024

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has awarded Comprehensive Health Care Program contracts for Michigan’s Medicaid health plans, which serve nearly 2 million Michigan residents receiving coverage through Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan Plan.

The five-year contracts include three, one-year optional extensions and go into effect Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Contracts continued to be awarded based on the state’s 10 Prosperity Regions. All nine of Michigan’s current Medicaid health plans submitted proposals and were awarded. While we have retained the same nine Medicaid health plans as our previous contract, there are some changes to their service areas:

With these changes, there will be impacts for beneficiaries who are currently enrolled with a health plan leaving a region. MDHHS has developed plans for ensuring individuals whose health plan is leaving a region are properly notified and can transition to another plan that will hold a contract within their county of residence. As we prepared for this, we had the following goals in mind: (1) allowing for beneficiary transition that will involve choice; and (2) creating an environment with as little disruption as possible, aiming for no interim period of fee for service.  We believe this will allow for an opportunity to better serve beneficiaries and provide appropriate transitions of care.

Beneficiaries whose plan will be leaving a region will receive a notification letter from the Department’s enrollment broker, with mailings beginning on August 26, 2024. Mailings will conclude in early September. The letters will be printed on yellow paper and include detailed instructions on how to choose a new health plan. Beneficiaries must respond by September 17, 2024, prior to the auto-assignment process starting on September 18, 2024, for new health plan coverage effective on October 1, 2024.