If you have Medicaid in Michigan, you keep your coverage active by completing a redetermination at least once every 12 months. The Michigan Medicaid redetermination form, officially the MDHHS-1010, arrives in the mail already filled in with what the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has on file for your household. Your job is to review each section, correct anything that has changed, attach any requested proof, and return it within 30 calendar days of the date on the form.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Verification and Collateral Contacts
When You’ll Receive the Form (and When You Won’t)
Before MDHHS asks you for anything, it runs a passive renewal, sometimes called an ex parte review. The agency checks income data, household information, and other records already in state systems to see whether you still qualify. If that data confirms your eligibility, your coverage is renewed automatically and no form is mailed.2Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Redetermination/Ex Parte Review
If the passive review cannot confirm eligibility because income data is outdated, household size may have changed, or some detail is missing, MDHHS mails you the pre-populated MDHHS-1010. The 30-day clock starts on the date shown on the form.
Documents to Gather Before You Start
MDHHS sorts documents into two groups: permanent records you only need to provide once, such as birth certificates, passports, and divorce decrees, and nonpermanent records that must be current, generally dated within 60 days of your eligibility determination.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Verification and Collateral Contacts Pulling paperwork together before you sit down with the form prevents back-and-forth verification requests that shorten your response window.
For most households, have these ready:
- Recent pay stubs covering the period MDHHS uses for your determination, or records of self-employment income. If you receive Social Security, a pension, or unemployment, include your most recent benefit statements.
- Proof of Michigan residency: a current utility bill, lease, or mortgage statement showing your address.
- Social Security numbers and dates of birth for everyone in the household, especially anyone added since your last renewal.
- If you qualify through an aged, blind, or disabled category, bank statements for checking and savings, information on investments, and details on any real property beyond your primary home. These categories have an asset test; MAGI-based categories do not.
For asset-tested cases, MDHHS also runs an electronic check that pulls data from financial institutions on checking accounts, savings accounts, IRAs, certificates of deposit, and annuities.2Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Redetermination/Ex Parte Review Having your own records available lets you catch discrepancies before the agency does.
Filling In the MDHHS-1010
Work through every pre-filled field and check it against your current situation. The sections that most often need updating are income amounts, employer information, household members, and mailing address.
If your household has grown, whether from a new baby or a relative moving in, or shrunk because a child aged out or someone moved out, update the household composition section. Report income from all sources: wages, self-employment, interest, dividends, rental income, and any government benefits. A blank field where you actually have something to report, or an unchanged address that is no longer yours, tends to trigger a verification request.
Sign and date the form once every section is reviewed. If you are completing it for someone else as an authorized representative, make sure the authorization is on file with MDHHS or included with your packet. Write your case number on every page of any documents you attach; that is what links your paperwork to the right caseworker.
How to Submit
MDHHS accepts completed renewals four ways:
- Online through MI Bridges. Log in at newmibridges.michigan.gov and use the “Renew Benefits” button on your dashboard. You can complete the renewal electronically and upload supporting documents, with an “Upload Successful” confirmation once they reach MDHHS. This is the fastest option and gives you a digital record of what you sent and when.3MI Bridges. Renew Benefits4MI Bridges. Document Upload
- By mail or in-person drop-off at your assigned local MDHHS county office. Addresses are in the MDHHS county office directory at michigan.gov.5Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. County Offices
- By fax to your county office’s fax number, listed in the same directory. Case number on every page.
For faxed or electronically submitted documents, the transmission date counts as the receipt date. Anything dropped off after business hours or left in a drop box is considered received the next business day.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Verification and Collateral Contacts
After You Submit
MDHHS reviews the packet and issues a Notice of Case Action telling you whether your benefits are continuing, changing, or ending. The notice is generated by the Bridges system and mailed from a centralized print center, and you can also read it in the “View Letters” section of your MI Bridges account.6Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Case Actions
If the agency needs more proof, such as a pay stub you left out or verification of a new household member, you will receive a Verification Checklist (form DHS-3503). You generally have 10 calendar days to send the requested documents. If you are making a genuine effort but need more time, ask your caseworker for an extension. MDHHS can grant up to two extensions beyond the initial deadline, but each one has to be requested; extensions are not given automatically.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Verification and Collateral Contacts
If You Miss the 30-Day Deadline
Renewal packets get buried in the mail, and deadlines slip. If your Medicaid coverage is terminated because you did not return the form or the requested documents, you are not necessarily starting over. Federal rules require states to reconsider your eligibility without a new application if you submit the missing renewal form or documentation within 90 days of your termination date.7Medicaid.gov. Conducting Medicaid and CHIP Renewals During the Unwinding Period and Beyond – Essential Reminders If you are found eligible during that reconsideration, coverage is reinstated back to the original termination date, closing the gap.
After the 90 days close, you have to submit a new application (the MDHHS-1171, Assistance Application) and go through the full eligibility process from the beginning. Even if you are late, sending in what you have quickly is far easier than starting fresh months later.
Appealing a Denial or Reduction
Every Notice of Case Action that denies, reduces, or terminates benefits has to explain your right to a hearing.6Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Bridges Administrative Manual – Case Actions You file the appeal on form DCH-0018 (Request for Hearing) and submit it to MDHHS.8Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Medicaid Fair Hearings
Timing controls whether your benefits keep running while the appeal is pending. Request the hearing before the effective date of the termination or reduction, which is typically within the advance notice period stated on your Notice of Case Action, and your coverage generally continues at its current level until a decision is issued. Wait past that window and coverage may stop while the hearing is scheduled. At the hearing itself you can present evidence, bring witnesses, and explain why the agency’s decision was wrong.
Reporting Changes Between Renewals
Redetermination happens once a year, but your obligation to keep MDHHS informed does not pause in between. You must report changes in household size, income, or assets within 10 days of the change.9Michigan Legal Help. An Overview of Medicaid Reportable events include starting or losing a job, a meaningful change in earnings, a household member moving in or out, marriage or divorce, and acquiring or selling property (for asset-tested categories).
The simplest route is the “Report Changes” feature in MI Bridges. You can also call the MI Bridges helpline at 888-642-7434 or submit form DHS-2240 to your local office. Missing the 10-day reporting deadline can produce an overpayment MDHHS will later ask you to repay, or an underpayment that leaves you short of coverage you were entitled to.