Healthy Kids Dental 2026 changed on Thursday, October 1: Delta Dental of Michigan is now the only plan administering the benefit statewide, and children who were enrolled in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Healthy Kids Dental plan move to Delta Dental automatically. Blue Cross prior authorizations are honored by Delta Dental for 90 days from enrollment. A child in the middle of treatment with a Blue Cross only dentist can ask for continuity of care for up to six months. For a dental front desk, the work this month is checking eligibility on the day of the visit, finding open authorizations, and telling families where they stand before they are surprised.
In short
- 955,000 children: about how many Michigan children under 21 Healthy Kids Dental serves, according to MDHHS (2026).
- October 1, 2026: Delta Dental of Michigan becomes the single plan, on a five-year contract with three one-year extension options (MDHHS, 2026).
- 90 days: how long Delta Dental honors prior authorizations approved by Blue Cross, counted from enrollment (MDHHS Bulletin MMP 26-37, 2026).
- Six months: the longest continuity of care a child mid-treatment can get with a Blue Cross only dentist (MDHHS Bulletin MMP 26-37, 2026).
What changed on October 1, 2026
MDHHS set out the switch in Bulletin MMP 26-37, issued September 1, 2026 and effective October 1. Until now Michigan ran two dental health plans for Healthy Kids Dental. The new contract cycle has one. What it means for your office depends on which plans you accepted:
| Your office before October 1 | What happens now |
|---|---|
| Accepted both Blue Cross and Delta Dental HKD | Minimal change. Children assigned to you stay with you. |
| Accepted Blue Cross HKD only | You may join the Delta Dental HKD network. If you do not, Delta Dental assigns the child to a new dentist unless the family picks one. |
| Accepted Delta Dental HKD only | More children enrolled with your plan. Former Blue Cross families may call you. |
| Accepted neither | No change to your participation. |
The bulletin also makes one eligibility change. From October 1, children who live in a Child Caring Institution are no longer excluded from Healthy Kids Dental and will be enrolled automatically. The bulletin notes that its implementation is subject to CMS approving a waiver amendment.
Why the front desk feels it first
Families were told there is nothing to do. The Blue Cross member page says members "will move to a new Healthy Kids Dental plan," that there is "nothing members need to do" and "no pause in coverage." That is true for coverage. It does not help the parent who arrives this month holding the old Blue Cross card, or the one who gets a letter naming a dentist they have never seen.
The bulletin says each family gets written notice from MDHHS and Blue Cross, then a notice from Delta Dental with plan and assigned provider information. Some will read them. Others will phone the office they already know.
The money risk is specific. Delta Dental's Healthy Kids Dental network page says that if you do not check eligibility on the date of service for a Healthy Kids Dental patient and you treat a child who is not eligible, "you cannot receive reimbursement from Delta Dental and cannot bill the patient for the services." It asks offices to check eligibility on appointment days because eligibility "may change frequently."
Healthy Kids Dental 2026: a front desk checklist for October
- Check eligibility with Delta Dental on the day of every Healthy Kids Dental visit. Not at scheduling, not from the card in the chart. A Blue Cross card on file is now out of date for every child who was enrolled with Blue Cross.
- List every open Blue Cross prior authorization. For each one, note the child, the procedure and the date the authorization was approved. Delta Dental honors these for 90 days from enrollment. Counted from October 1, that window closes at the end of December. Schedule the work inside it, or plan the new request now.
- Flag children in the middle of treatment. If your office only took Blue Cross and a child is partway through care, the bulletin lets you or the family ask Delta Dental for continuity of care for up to six months. It applies where stopping would cause serious detriment to the child's oral health. Delta Dental's transition page says the request can be made verbally or in writing through customer service.
- Decide on the network and tell families the answer. If you only took Blue Cross, the bulletin points to Delta Dental's network page for joining. If you decide not to join, say so plainly when families call, and give them Delta Dental's number, 1-866-696-7441, or Michigan ENROLLS, 1-800-975-7630.
- Update what your phone answers. The insurance list, the hold message, the website's "plans we accept" line and the script at the desk should all say the same thing from October 1.
- Keep the noncovered conversation in writing. Delta Dental says a procedure missing from the HKD fee schedule is not covered, that any fee must be discussed in advance, and that the family's agreement to pay should be noted in the patient record. A covered service denied for a frequency limit cannot be charged to the family unless they agreed to pay.
The mistake most offices make at step 1
They check eligibility when the appointment is booked and treat that as done. Delta Dental's rule is about the date of service, and this month the plan itself changed between the booking and the visit for children who were with Blue Cross. A check made in September for an October cleaning was made against the old arrangement. Run it again on the morning of the visit, and record that you did.
Does Healthy Kids Dental still cover the same services?
MDHHS describes the program as covering services such as X-rays, cleanings, fillings, extractions and sealants at no cost to families, and nothing in Bulletin MMP 26-37 changes that list. What changes is who pays the claim and whose rules apply. Delta Dental's HKD page says covered services are reimbursed at the lesser of the dentist's submitted fee or the HKD fee schedule, that its standard time limitations apply, and that removing asymptomatic third molars is not a covered benefit. Check the Healthy Kids Dental manual in Delta Dental's office toolkit for the current limits before you quote anything to a family. This note is a summary of the published notices, not coverage advice.
When a family moves to a new dentist, the old office will get a records request. Our note on Michigan medical records fees covers what Michigan allows and the 30-day HIPAA clock. Adult Medicaid patients face their own changes next year, covered in our guide to Healthy Michigan Plan work requirements.
Where this fits in a practice's front office
The question this month is "do you still take my child's plan?" Answering it from a list the office maintains, in the office's own words, and booking the visit if the answer is yes, is part of the healthcare practice work we build. It never guesses at coverage or quotes a fee. Eligibility is still checked on the day by your staff, against Delta Dental.
The plan changed overnight. The families will find out one phone call at a time.
