How to Become a Medicaid Waiver Provider in Michigan

Finishing CHAMPS does not put you in anyone's network. Michigan's I/DD waiver is administered regionally: the Habilitation Supports Waiver runs through Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans under contract with the state department, and services are delivered by the PIHP and the affiliate Community Mental Health Services Programs beneath it. So the state enrollment you complete in CHAMPS establishes that you are a screened, eligible Medicaid provider — and then you still have to contract with the PIHP and CMHSP for your region before a single participant can be served. Plan for two processes with different owners and different clocks. On the CHAMPS side there is one deadline worth writing down before you start: the provider enrollment application must be completed within 30 days, so gather your SIGMA registration, MiLogin credentials, NPI, licensure, tax and ownership information, and banking details before you open the application rather than after.

Register with SIGMA, create MiLogin access, enroll and be screened in CHAMPS within 30 days of starting the application, then contract with the PIHP and CMHSP for your region.

Application system: CHAMPS — Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System

1. Determine whether your provider type must enroll

   MDHHS publishes a getting-started sequence that begins with deciding whether the provider needs to enroll at all, and continues through MiLogin registration and CHAMPS access.

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2. Register with SIGMA Financial

   SIGMA registration precedes the CHAMPS work in MDHHS's own checklist for new agency and fiscal intermediary enrollments.

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3. Create MiLogin credentials and gain CHAMPS access

   CHAMPS is reached through MiLogin. Set up the user ID and password, then request the CHAMPS access profile you need.

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4. Complete the provider enrollment application within 30 days

   Fill out the application in CHAMPS and track it through the portal until it is approved. The 30-day completion requirement applies from when you start.

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5. Contract with your PIHP and its CMHSP

   Enrollment in CHAMPS establishes Medicaid eligibility; the regional PIHP that administers the Habilitation Supports Waiver, and the CMHSP that delivers services under it, are separate contracting relationships.

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Michigan delegates I/DD waiver administration to Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans, which contract with the state and work through affiliate Community Mental Health Services Programs. Being enrolled and screened in CHAMPS does not put you in a PIHP or CMHSP network — that is a separate contract, negotiated regionally, and it is the step that determines whether participants can actually be assigned to you. Talk to the PIHP covering your counties before you build a hiring plan around a start date.

Michigan does not publish these in a form we could verify, so we have not guessed at them. Ask directly — and if an answer here would help other providers, tell us and we will add it with its source.

• Which PIHP covers your counties, is it accepting new network providers for your service, and what does its contracting process require?

  Ask: The PIHP for your region

• What screening level, application fee, and revalidation cycle does MDHHS assign your CHAMPS provider type?

  Ask: MDHHS Provider Support Helpline, 1-800-979-4662

• What staff training, credentialing, and background checks does your PIHP require beyond state enrollment?

  Ask: The PIHP for your region

• How long does CHAMPS enrollment currently take from submission to approval?

  Ask: MDHHS Provider Support Helpline, 1-800-979-4662