Since going live with its major system components in September 2009, CHAMPS has exceeded expectations, handling millions of dollars a day in reimbursements for doctors, dentists, hospitals and nursing homes across the state. The system has not missed a single payment cycle and is expected to process 56 million claims and encounters, totaling $10 billion in payments on an annual basis for both fee-for-service and managed care recipients.

"CHAMPS speeds up the claims process, which reduces redundancy and waste, and improves efficiency, thus serving patients and providers more effectively," said Janet Olszewski, Director of the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH). "Information management is both an art and a science, and CHAMPS has been designed to master both of these disciplines for Medicaid providers and MDCH staff alike. We are excited to be the first in the nation to implement a next generation MMIS."

One of the key features of CHAMPS is the increased transparency offered to providers submitting Medicaid claims to the state. Providers can check the status of their claims and payments in near real-time and quickly respond to resolve issues to expedite claim approval. Likewise, the MDCH has faster access to claim status and reports, allowing the department to be more accountable to regulators, providers, and beneficiaries. The system supports 2 million beneficiaries, 53,000 providers, 38 benefit plans and more than 25,000 users, which makes it one of the top rated Internet sites in the state.

CHAMPS replaced a mainframe MMIS originally designed in 1972. The MDCH and the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) partnered with business solutions vendor CNSI, to launch the system.

This is a significant milestone in a 4-year federally funded project, ushering in a modern, streamlined system designed for doing business in the 21st century.

"A technology project this large doesn't happen without a strong partnership," said Ken Theis, Director of DTMB and CIO for the state of Michigan. "The leadership, strong business decisions, and full support shown by MDCH were instrumental in making this project a success."

A change of this magnitude can only be made possible with a significant investment of time and money.

"This wasn't a system update or tune-up - this was a transformation," said CNSI Chief Strategy Officer Adnan Ahmed. "CHAMPS retired a cumbersome, outdated mode of operation. It is the first of its kind in the country, and we were pleased to have the opportunity to work with Michigan on this successful implementation."

CHAMPS not only offers dramatic improvements for all stakeholders, but it is also well suited to meet the demands of health care coverage expansion that is anticipated from national health care reform. Administrators can quickly implement system changes accurately at lower cost, while ensuring precision and accountability.

The state continues to iron out minor issues identified during the course of operations and these matters have been handled effectively without affecting the beneficiaries' access to care. From its start, CHAMPS has exceeded expectations in speed and accuracy. Thousands of Michigan hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other health care and managed care providers received training and webinars over the past four years in preparation for CHAMPS, resulting in more than 95 percent of the provider community successfully enrolling in the new system at its initial launch. Users who access the system experience increased interaction, improved visibility and on-line access to the user-friendly MMIS. Solutions are quickly available for users who experience technical difficulties.