July 2026 Top of Mind

Check your practice’s provider roster to prevent gaps in care for UCare members

Calling all Medica behavioral health practices in Minnesota. Are all eligible* providers in your practice ready to see Medicaid members transitioning from UCare this fall?

To ensure seamless continuity of care for incoming UCare Community Health plan members, all eligible behavioral health providers in your practice should be credentialed and contracted with Optum Behavioral Health before Oct. 1, 2026. This is the date Optum will begin managing behavioral health benefits for UCare Medicaid members transitioning to Medica.

Next steps

1. Verify all providers in your practice are in network with Optum. To review your roster in the Provider Express secure portal:
   • Log in with your One Healthcare ID. Don’t have a One Healthcare ID? Simply select Create a One Healthcare ID from the log in page and follow the steps.
   • Select My Practice Info, then Practice Profile to review the network status of providers in your practice. For step-by-step instructions, review My Practice Info – Navigation Instructions.
2. Compare the roster to your group’s provider listing to verify that they match. Based on that review:
   • If the two lists are the same: No need to do anything further.
   • If there are clinicians on your group’s listing that are not on your Optum roster: You’ll need to have them credentialed/contracted with Optum before Oct. 1, 2026.
3. If a provider requires contracting:
   • Individual providers: Follow the steps to join our network as an Individually Credentialed Clinician. Each eligible provider needs a separate application. For help, view the guide to portal access and credentialing.
   • For practices with group agreements: Providers in a group can join our network by following the steps within the Provider Express secure portal. Simply navigate to My Practice Info, then Practice Profile and select the Review your Roster tab to get started. For more instructions, review the My Practice Profile training beginning with Step 4.

Because everyone in your practice may not receive Top of Mind, we recommend forwarding this article to anyone who handles credentialing/contracting for your practice, including third-party vendors. We also recommend starting the process as soon as possible to allow adequate time to complete credentialing and contracting by Oct. 1, 2026.

Questions? We’re here to help.

For questions, please contact Provider Services at 1-877-614-0484, Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. CT.

* Providers must be enrolled and in good standing with Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) to be eligible to join our network. All applications are subject to Optum’s credentialing and contracting policies outlined in the Credentialing Plan and National Provider Network Manual.