General Questions

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared a public health emergency (PHE). During the federal PHE, state Medicaid agencies are required to continue health care coverage for all medical assistance programs, even if someone's eligibility changes.

As a result, Medicaid, MI Child, and Healthy Michigan Plan (HMP) beneficiaries remain covered during the federal PHE so they don't have to worry about their health and wellbeing during this challenging time.

The PHE declaration is a federal decision and no one knows yet when the PHE will end. The federal government has indicated they will give states a 60-day notice before formally ending the PHE. The State has not yet received this notice. If not ended, the federal PHE can be extended for up to 90-days at a time and has been renewed every 90 days for nearly three years. The PHE was most recently renewed on January 11, 2023. The PHE renewal can be viewed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website at https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/covid19-11Jan23.aspx.

As a result of a newly enacted federal law, MDHHS will be working to restart Medicaid redeterminations in the coming months. The law does not address ending the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, which is still in effect. You can read the federal law, Consolidated Appropriations Act or this federal bulletin for more information.

Before Medicaid renewals begin, beneficiaries will receive an alert letter with guidance on how to prepare. Visit the Eligibility Notification Timeline webpage for more information.

When the COVID-19 PHE ends, MDHHS will notify stakeholders and providers of other program changes to occur.

MDHHS is currently preparing communication tools including a beneficiary text messaging campaign, online brochure, website content, Frequently Asked Questions, social media (Facebook, Twitter) posts, and radio advertisements. Additionally, a stakeholder toolkit is under development with resources being published as they are finalized. Check out the stakeholder toolkit resources at: www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/end-phe/stakeholder-toolkit.

The first renewal packets are scheduled to begin mailing (or sent electronically) in May 2023 for those with renewal dates in June 2023. Visit the Eligibility Notification Timeline webpage for more information.

There is no online version of the MDHHS-1010 or DHS-1004 available. Beneficiaries will need to complete their eligibility renewal in MI Bridges.

MDHHS will issue for public comment the proposed post-Public Health Emergency (PHE) Telemedicine policy which will outline a long-term policy effective after the PHE ends. Once this proposed policy is issued, for public comment, providers and all other stakeholders are encouraged to provide comments on the policy as outlined. MDHHS will consider all public comments, will make any adjustments to the policy as deemed appropriate, and will issue the policy as final. MDHHS plans to issue the final policy prior to the end of the PHE.