Thank you for your consideration in joining our family of plans. Together we can transform the health of our communities, one person at a time.
Serving close to 1 million members across Illinois, our network includes more than 220 hospitals, 21,000 primary care providers, 43,000 specialty providers, and over 5,700 behavioral health and substance use providers.
Our Family of Plans
We offer comprehensive, government-sponsored healthcare plans that cover families, individuals, children, seniors, and people with complex medical needs—and can keep them covered at every stage of life.
Our provider network is at the core of our health plans.
You can count on us to offer resources that support your practice. From reliable self-service tools to responsive Provider Relations representatives, we strive to meet the needs of our valued providers so you can focus on delivering care to your patients.
Learn more about joining the Meridian network:
Ready to join our network? Follow these steps.
Step 1: Submit the network intake form
The network intake form* must be completed and include all required documents to begin the process of becoming a participating provider. Our Network team will review your submission and notify you of next steps in the contracting process within 20 business days.
*Note: To participate in our Medicaid Plan, YouthCare or Medicare-Medicaid Plan (MMP), you will need an active Illinois Medicaid Number to submit the network intake form. Access your HFS IMPACT account or register here.
Step 2: Sign the Participation Agreement & complete the credentialing process
Review and sign the Participation Agreement you receive from our Network team. Accepted contracts are countersigned and a copy is returned to you. This initiates our credentialing* process.
Our Credentialing team will confirm that all requested documentation has been received and is current. Credentialing requirements and processes follow the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) guidelines.
*Note: Credentialing for the Medicaid plan, YouthCare, and MMP is completed by using the HFS Impact system. Credentialing for our Ambetter and Wellcare products requires a completed credentialing application (PDF) with your network intake form.
Step 3: Finalize enrollment
Let’s finalize the onboarding process. Depending on the specifics of your contract, our team will follow up to ensure you are properly integrated into our internal systems, configured for claims payment, and loaded into the provider directory (if applicable).
Step 4: Welcome to Meridian!
You will receive a letter with relevant contract information and details about upcoming orientations for new providers.
Hear directly from our valued providers
“Here at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, we are contracted with all Medicaid and Medicare managed care plans offered in our region. Our experience with Meridian and Wellcare has been great, and our Provider Relations partner is very attentive to our issues and concerns. We are grateful for the positive experience and Meridian’s efforts in working with us to address our needs.”
Dan H.
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System
Mattoon, Ill.