Blog Index
The journal that this archive was targeting has been deleted. Please update your configuration.
Navigation

Minnesota Association of County Health Plans (MACHP) is a Minnesota nonprofit trade association of the state's three County-Based Purchasing (CBP) plans working together to strengthen and promote this successful Minnesota-grown model. For more than 40 years, CBP has produced outstanding results delivering Minnesota's publicly subsidized health care programs for low income individuals (Minnesota Health Care Programs or MHCP). A bipartisan coalition of legislators passed landmark legislation enacting CBP into Minnesota law in 1997, giving counties special authority to choose this model to care for MHCP enrollees. In 2025, legislators enacted a new advancement in this model by passing County Administered Rural Medical Assistance or CARMA.

Counties Can! CBP plans are owned and governed by the counties they serve to deliver MHCP to low income individuals Across Greater Minnesota. CBP plans are fundamentally different from HMOs and other managed care models, bringing unique value to public programs because of local oversight and responsiveness to needs. CBP plans provide MHCP enrollees with dependable access to care, enhancing health care quality, supporting health care innovation in rural areas, and coordinating closely with county public health and social services for integrated and innovative care.

Transparency and oversight are integral to this model. CBP plans are governed by locally elected county commissioners who provide strong oversight, and careful responsiveness to local needs, making sure taxpayer dollars are used well and wisely. Both state and federal agencies also oversee and regularly audit these plans.

Our association works to educate policy makers about this county-based approach, and why it is uniquely beneficial to people in need across Greater Minnesota. CBP and the new CARMA program continue with strong, bi-partisan support among state legislators, and strong local support among county commissioners.  We collaborate closely with the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) and numerous provider organizations who understand the importance of CBP and local care delivery.   and improve the conditions for member CBP plans in Minnesota, helping ensure counties have local control and self-determination in utilizing CBP and forming CBP organizations.

MACHP promotes CBP plans and the CARMA program:

  • Supporting legislation that ensures and protects local control and self-determination of counties in choosing CBP and the new CARMA program. (See: Minnesota Statutes 256B.69, 256B.692, 256B.694, 256B.695)
  • Working for stronger public policy supporting local county authority and the CBP model.
  • Facilitating communication and transparency among CBP plans, the counties they serve, provider partners, state and federal agencies as we continuously improve dependable access to quality, cost-effective care for the people we serve.
  • Encouraging development of new CBP organizations by advising counties with interest in CBP and CARMA, supporting the advancement of the model, and strengthening local counties' roles in the procurement and administration of Minnesota's public health care programs.