Michigan Medicaid: apply, send proof and follow your case
Start a Michigan health-coverage application through MI Bridges. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) determines each person’s category and whether they meet its requirements; a child and parent may receive different decisions. You can apply throughout the year.
What this guide helps you do
- Where it applies
- Michigan · Medicaid
- Your next action
- Prepare an application, respond to requests and identify your next action.
- Who decides
- This guide explains a process. The responsible agency decides eligibility, amounts and deadlines for your case.
Start here
Open MI Bridges. If you already applied, find your confirmation and use the follow-up section below.
Who this guide is for
Michigan residents seeking health coverage, or someone helping them. Healthy Michigan Plan is one adult route. Children, pregnancy, Medicare, disability, age 65 or older and long-term care need their own category review; there is no single income limit for everyone.
Have these ready if available
- Names, dates of birth and a reliable mailing address or another contact arrangement agreed with MDHHS.
- Income records with payment dates and frequency; explain recent changes.
- Current insurance and Medicare information, if applicable.
- Identity, citizenship or immigration information requested for the people applying; ask about alternatives when a required item is unavailable.
- Existing case number, notices and copies of anything already sent.
Your steps
Choose the right people and coverage
List who needs insurance. Answer the household questions as written; tell MDHHS about pregnancy, disability, Medicare or long-term care.
Choose online or paper
Use MI Bridges, or get the current DCH-1426 paper form from MDHHS. Ask your county office where to return it and for help completing it.
Complete one section
Check whether income is requested per week, month or year. Ask the office before guessing. Request a free interpreter if needed.
Submit and keep the confirmation
Complete the signature and submission instructions. Save the application number, date and a copy. A saved draft is not proof of submission.
Send any requested proof
Read the notice for the exact document, due date and delivery method. Keep proof of what you sent; contact the office before the deadline if you cannot obtain it.
Check the case
Use MI Bridges or ask the county office what remains outstanding. Give your application number and submission date. Ask which processing standard applies to your category.
Read each person’s decision
Check coverage dates and health-plan instructions. If a decision seems wrong, keep the notice and use the hearing instructions below; an enquiry does not replace a hearing request.
After you apply
Keep the approval and insurance details together. Confirm which providers accept your coverage. Keep reading MDHHS mail even after approval; a request for renewal may need a response.
If you get stuck
Ask your MDHHS county office: “I applied on [date], case [number]. What is missing, how can I send it, and what is my next deadline?” Say which language or accessible format you need. Send personal documents only through the official channels.
If something gets in the way
I cannot get a document
Tell the county office exactly what is missing before the due date. Ask whether it can verify the information or accept another record; do not assume extra time has been granted.
I do not understand a notice
Mark the action, deadline and case number. Ask MDHHS to explain it with a free interpreter or accessible format. Keep the full notice.
I have an appointment or missed a call
Michigan Medicaid does not require an in-person interview as a condition of eligibility. A combined benefits request may have other appointments. Ask which program the appointment concerns and how to reschedule.
My household or income changed
Report the change through MI Bridges or the office and keep confirmation. Ask how it affects each person’s category; do not decide that everyone has lost coverage.
I am waiting without an answer
Ask the office to confirm receipt, missing items and the applicable decision deadline. If the agency is overdue, ask about a hearing for delayed action.
After you apply: keep the process moving
Keep proof of receipt
Keep one private record of the application date, case number and each submission receipt.
Keep contact details current
Check that MDHHS can reach you. Use the county directory if your usual contact is unavailable.
Check any appointment
Record only appointments the agency actually requests. Confirm the program, date, phone number and interpreter arrangements.
Close out document requests
Ask whether each requested item is marked received and whether anything else remains due.
Respond to the renewal notice
Check your renewal date in MI Bridges. Return requested paperwork by its deadline. If a packet is missing, contact your county office.
Challenge an eligibility decision
For an MDHHS eligibility action, a signed written hearing request generally must reach the local office within 90 calendar days of the written notice. Deliver, mail or fax it as the notice directs; keep proof. Ask immediately about an earlier deadline to continue existing coverage. Service or health-plan denials and Social Security Administration (SSA) disability decisions may use different appeal routes.
Common questions
Can I still use a Healthy Kids/MIChild paper form?
The old DCH-0373 and Plan First MSA-1582 are obsolete. Use MI Bridges or the current DCH-1426 linked on the MDHHS application page.
Does one income figure decide whether I qualify?
No. The adult expansion reference is not the rule for every child, pregnancy, disability or long-term-care case. Ask MDHHS to review the relevant category.
Do I need to pay someone to interpret?
MDHHS provides language assistance without charging the applicant. Ask the office for an interpreter and say which spoken and written language you use.
If I disagree, is calling the office enough?
A support call does not replace Michigan’s signed written eligibility hearing request. Follow the notice and keep evidence that the office received the request.
Official sources
- MDHHS — Current health-coverage applicationSources checked: 2026-09-13
- MDHHS — Coverage categoriesSources checked: 2026-09-13
- MDHHS — County officesSources checked: 2026-09-13
- MDHHS — BAM 105: applicant rightsSources checked: 2026-09-13
- MDHHS — BAM 115: application processingSources checked: 2026-09-13
- MDHHS — BAM 600: hearingsSources checked: 2026-09-13
- Michigan — Medicaid renewal remindersSources checked: 2026-09-13
- HealthCare.gov — Medicaid and CHIPSources checked: 2026-09-13
- MI Bridges — Application and case portal (limited access)Sources checked: 2026-09-13