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MIChild in Michigan: Who Qualifies, What It Covers, and How to Apply

The red Holland Harbor lighthouse known as Big Red in Holland, Michigan, standing at the end of a long pier across the channel, under a soft golden sunset sky with light clouds, above hook text: MIChild in Michigan. Coverage for Your Kids?

MIChild is Michigan’s health coverage program for uninsured kids under 19 in working families whose income is a little too high for regular children’s Medicaid. It is run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). If you are raising kids in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, the Upper Peninsula, or anywhere in the state and your job does not offer family coverage, this guide explains how MIChild works and how to apply.

This article is educational. Instant Health Help is a licensed health insurance agency, and our agent, Lobsang Rivas, is licensed in Michigan. We are not MDHHS, Medicaid, MIChild, or an insurance company, and MDHHS decides who qualifies. We do not quote prices or name plans here. See the official MIChild page.

The short answer

  1. MIChild is for kids under 19 who have no other comprehensive health insurance.
  2. It now works like Medicaid. MDHHS explains that MIChild became a Medicaid expansion program, so kids on MIChild can get all Medicaid covered services, and they use a mihealth card.
  3. You apply the same way you apply for Medicaid, online through MI Bridges, by phone, on paper, or at your local MDHHS office.

Who qualifies

MDHHS says that to qualify for MIChild, a child must:

  1. Be under age 19.
  2. Have no other comprehensive health insurance.
  3. Have a Social Security number, or have applied for one.
  4. Live in Michigan.
  5. Meet the income requirements.

The MDHHS eligibility manual (BEM 130) describes MIChild as a MAGI Medicaid program with a higher income limit than regular Medicaid for children under 19, up to 212% of the federal poverty level, and no asset test. Income limits are updated, so check MDHHS’s health care programs eligibility page or ask us to walk through your numbers.

What MIChild covers

MDHHS lists medically necessary services such as:

  1. Doctor visits, immunizations (shots), and emergency services
  2. Inpatient and outpatient hospital care, surgery, lab, and x-ray
  3. Medicine prescribed by a doctor
  4. Dental, vision, hearing, and speech services
  5. Mental health and substance use disorder treatment
  6. Physical and occupational therapy, chiropractic, and podiatry
  7. Pregnancy care, including prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care
  8. Home health, private duty nursing, medical supplies, ambulance, and rides to covered appointments

Kids on MIChild are enrolled in a health plan and a dental plan. Read the MIChild general information page for the full list.

What about premiums?

MIChild used to charge a monthly premium. The current BEM 130 manual says MIChild beneficiaries are no longer required to pay premiums. MDHHS also explains in its MIChild conversion FAQ that changes in your household or income are reported to MDHHS, and renewals go through MDHHS.

How long coverage lasts

  1. 12 months of continuous eligibility. BEM 130 says kids stay eligible for 12 months, with limited exceptions, even if the family’s income changes.
  2. Coverage can start in the month you apply. Eligibility begins the first day of the month of application.
  3. Up to 3 months back. The manual says a 3 month retroactive period applies unless the child had other comprehensive insurance during that time. If your child had medical bills in the last few months, tell MDHHS when you apply.

How to apply

MDHHS lists four ways to apply:

  1. Online at MI Bridges. MDHHS calls this the quickest way to get results.
  2. By phone through the Michigan Health Care Helpline at 1-855-789-5610.
  3. On a paper application.
  4. In person at your local MDHHS office.

Have each person’s Social Security number (or proof you applied), pay stubs or other income information for your household, and information about any health insurance anyone in the house already has.

What about the parents?

MIChild covers kids, not adults. Lower income adults in Michigan may qualify for the Healthy Michigan Plan, and others may look at the Marketplace. Our guide to the Healthy Michigan Plan vs. the Marketplace explains how that choice works, and our Michigan open enrollment guide covers the dates and steps for Marketplace plans. In many families the kids end up on MIChild or Medicaid while a parent is on a Marketplace plan.

If you live across the line in Ohio, Indiana, or Wisconsin, apply for children’s coverage in your own state. Our agent is not licensed there.

How we help

We are licensed in Michigan and help by phone and online, in English or Spanish. Learn more on our Michigan health insurance help page. We can explain how MIChild, the Healthy Michigan Plan, and the Marketplace fit together for your household, tell you what to gather before you apply in MI Bridges, and for anyone in your house heading to the Marketplace, compare plans and help you enroll if you decide to. MDHHS decides MIChild and Medicaid eligibility.

Want to talk it through?

Have your household’s income information and a list of who lives with you, and we will go over your options step by step.

Call (321) 315-0054 | agent@inshh.com

You may qualify after tax credits. Eligibility varies.

Featured photo: Big Red lighthouse, Holland Harbor by Pksenagore, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped with text added.