Helpline Resource

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is one of 18 departments of state government.

The department, one of the largest in state government, is responsible for health policy and management of the state’s publicly-funded health service systems. About 2 million Michigan residents will receive services this year that are provided with total or partial support from MDCH.

The department was created in 1996 by consolidating the Department of Public Health, the Department of Mental Health and the Medical Services Administration, the state’s Medicaid agency. The Office of Drug Control Policy and the Office of Services to the Aging were later consolidated with MDCH.

Services are planned and delivered through these integrated components:

• Medicaid health care coverage for people with limited incomes;
• Mental health services for people who have a mental illness or a developmental disability, and services for people who need care for substance abuse;
• Health needs assessment, health promotion, disease prevention, and accessibility to appropriate health care for all citizens;
• Drug law enforcement, treatment, education and prevention programs;
• Promoting independence and enhancing the dignity of Michigan’s older persons and their families; and
• Administering the crime victim’s rights fund, investigating and processing crime victim compensation, and administering federal Victims of Crime Act grants.

Medicaid provides healthcare coverage for more than 1.6 million Michigan residents who are eligible for Medicaid coverage under federal guidelines. Services covered include inpatient and outpatient hospital services, physician services, health screening for eligible children, maternity services, pharmacy, medical supplies and equipment, nursing, mental health care, community-based care, and other services.

The department’s Mental Health Services are primarily provided through contracts with 46 Community Mental Health Services Programs, or CMHSP, and 18 Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans, or PIHP. These programs provide community-based, behavioral and mental health services and supports to persons with mental illness, developmental disabilities and addictive disorders throughout Michigan. The CMHSPs are expected to serve more than 220,000 children and adults this year.

For more information, contact The Michigan Department of Community Health at 517-373-3740, or visit them online at www.michigan.gov/mdhhs.

Phone code: 1279