Michigan Department of Community Health Launches New Medicaid System

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) recently launched a new Medicaid enrollment system that allows providers to enroll and update data quickly and efficiently. The Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System (CHAMPS) will process and adjudicate all Medicaid claims. The new system is a secure Web portal that gives providers a single source for direct access to enrollment, and in the future, claim information and other Medicaid-based business functions.The enrollment process was launched on March 31, 2008.

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) recently launched a new Medicaid enrollment system that allows providers to enroll and update data quickly and efficiently. The Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System (CHAMPS) will process and adjudicate all Medicaid claims. The new system is a secure Web portal that gives providers a single source for direct access to enrollment, and in the future, claim information and other Medicaid-based business functions.The enrollment process was launched on March 31, 2008. All 80, 000 Medicaid providers received notification about the new service requiring them to go online and revalidate their business information. The former enrollment process was paper-based and not customer focused.Over the next six months, MDCH is offering more than 50 outreach sessions throughout the state. All providers have to do is go online and register for a session near them.”CHAMPS will make enrollment and claim services cost effective, efficient and more convenient for our Medicaid providers, ” said MDCH Director Janet Olszewski. “This new system will allow providers to take control of their Medicaid business account online giving them instant access and information. CHAMPS represents the future of electronic health information exchange.”CHAMPS – a $78 million project of which 90 percent is federally funded and 10 percent state funded – will replace the current 36-year-old Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). MDCH partnered with the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) and business solutions provider CNSI to rollout the new system in multiple stages. This initiative was undertaken with existing state resources primarily with enhanced federal funding.”The Department of Community Health has been a tremendous partner as we have worked to overhaul the state’s Medicaid system, ” said Ken Theis, director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology and the state’s Chief Information Officer. “This marks the first major milestone for the CHAMPS project and we remain focused on meeting the target dates for the remainder of the project.””This release, an important milestone for the CHAMPS project, is the result of a strong, collaborative partnership between MDCH, MDIT and CNSI, ” said B. Chatterjee, president of CNSI. “The provider community now has access to the system, which ensures accuracy and accountability for all its stakeholders – the state, the providers and CNSI – to the Michigan taxpayers.”The first stage of the project, which involved reorganizing the MDCH Web page to be more provider friendly, was completed in December 2006. Stage two was the enhancement of the electronic document management system, which was implemented in July 2007 and will ultimately allow MDCH to discontinue storage of large quantities of paper documents and facilitate quick access to documentation during customer interactions. The provider enrollment system is the third stage of the project. The state is gearing up for the next two stages. The roll-out of the managed care system, including capitated payments, is scheduled for late 2008 followed by fee-for-service claims payments first quarter 2009. Now that the new enrollment process has been launched, more than 5, 000 Medicaid providers have revalidated online in the new system.