Automated Michigan Medicaid CHAMPS billing for dental offices.

Why CHAMPS gets its own workflow

Commercial electronic claims and Michigan Medicaid do not follow the same path. CHAMPS has its own submission process, status checks, corrections, and remittance posting. Treating Medicaid like “just another payer in the batch” is how claims stall, duplicates appear, or payments never make it back to the ledger.

DCS keeps Michigan Medicaid FFS billing in the CHAMPS process your office is authorized to use, then keeps a matching record in your practice software so aging, posting, and reporting stay visible to the office.

What the service includes

• Confirming the patient, date of service, provider, and eligibility information needed to bill
• Preparing dental claims for CHAMPS submission (including split claims when a visit has more lines than a single form will accept, billed exactly once)
• Submitting through the authorized CHAMPS path and recording the official receipt / TCN
• Checking status, working rejections, and making allowed corrections
• Posting remittances from official 835 / remittance data and reconciling to the deposit
• Keeping Medicaid patient-balance rules: we do not automatically bill Medicaid patients for amounts that cannot be billed
• A regular (typically weekly) billing, exceptions, and reconciliation report for the owner

Flat fee, not a percentage

Medicaid billing at Dental Consultant Services is a flat fee in any state, never a percentage of Medicaid collections (42 CFR 447.10). We do not take a percentage of Michigan Medicaid payments, and the same flat-fee rule would apply if we later billed another state’s Medicaid program. This is a standing rule, and it is one reason CHAMPS work is scoped differently from commercial insurance billing.

CHAMPS is a Michigan specialty. DCS is not currently billing other states’ Medicaid programs. We will not claim that support until we have verified the state’s authorized portal and enrollment setup for your office.

The exact flat fee is confirmed in your written scope after the free consultation. We do not publish a one-size-fits-all number, because volume, provider setup, and the condition of the current claims queue change the work.

How this sits next to the rest of your billing

If you also want commercial insurance billing, denial work, or aged-claim recovery, those are separate modules with their own written scope. CHAMPS can be the only module you buy, or it can sit inside a broader billing engagement.

The installed desktop assistant is typically how we work in CHAMPS and in your practice software, with a BAA in place first.

Who this is for

• Michigan dental offices enrolled to bill Medicaid
• Offices whose office manager is currently doing CHAMPS work between patients
• Practices that want a defined weekly CHAMPS cycle and a report they can check
• Practices that already use Dentrix or another supported system and can authorize workstation access

What we will not claim

We do not guarantee adjudication speed, payment amounts, or that every past Medicaid claim can be recovered. Fee schedules change, and a dated fee list is not a promise of coverage. If a claim is blocked by enrollment, documentation, or eligibility, we will record the reason and the next action instead of forcing it through.

CHAMPS billing questions

Do you bill Michigan Medicaid as a percentage?

No. It is a flat fee. Medicaid billing in any state is a flat fee, never a percentage of Medicaid collections (42 CFR 447.10).

Can you bill Medicaid in states other than Michigan?

CHAMPS is the Medicaid portal we currently have a dedicated workflow for. For another state’s Medicaid program, we would first confirm whether we can work in that state’s authorized portal and enrollment setup. We will not claim that support until we have verified it. If we do take on that work, it is a flat fee, never a percentage of Medicaid collections.

Do you only work in Metro Detroit?

No. We work with Michigan practices remotely, including offices outside Metro Detroit, and we serve practices nationwide for non-CHAMPS billing.

Will you replace our biller?

Only if that is what the written scope says. Some offices ask us to run CHAMPS only.

Is this the same as a collection agency?

No.

Do I need to send you patient files by email?

No. The usual path is authorized access on your office workstation and systems, under a BAA.

How CHAMPS billing works with us

Michigan Medicaid dental claims follow a different path from most commercial insurance. Dental Consultant Services runs this work as a flat fee service, not a percentage of payments. Here is how a typical cycle goes.

1. Enrollment and eligibility checks

Before a claim is prepared, we confirm the patient, the date of service, provider enrollment, and Medicaid eligibility for that date. We also look for other insurance, existing authorizations, and frequency or coverage limits. If something does not line up, the item is held with a clear reason rather than forced through.

2. Claim preparation

We assemble each dental claim with the procedure, tooth, and documentation details the program requires, and we check that it has not already been sent. Split or replacement claims are prepared only when that is the correct path, and billed exactly once.

3. Submission

Claims are submitted through the authorized Michigan CHAMPS path your office has approved. We record the official receipt before a claim is treated as filed, then re-check status so a missing acknowledgment is investigated before anyone tries again.

4. Remittance review and posting

When remittances arrive, we match each line to the claim and date of service, post the insurance payment once it is confirmed, and reconcile it to the deposit. We do not treat a remittance as cash received, or a payment as posted, until the record confirms it. Medicaid patient-balance rules are followed: we do not automatically bill a Medicaid patient for an amount that cannot be billed.

5. Denial correction and resubmission

Denied, rejected, or suspended claims are reviewed against the payer’s reason and instructions. Allowed corrections, missing attachments, and resubmissions are completed along the proper path. Clinical questions go to licensed staff. A suspended claim is followed up — it is not automatically submitted again.

6. Reporting

You receive a regular billing, exceptions, and reconciliation report you can check: what was prepared, submitted, accepted, paid, posted, and what is still open with an owner and a next step. If a figure cannot be verified, we will say so.