Act Soon: Texas Medicaid, CHIP Login System Changing in June
By Phil West

Texas physicians participating in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) must act June 8-15 to maintain access to key online platforms, as the state agency makes changes aimed at keeping its systems more secure.

The change comes ahead of an overhaul to its Provider Enrollment and Management System (PEMS), anticipated in summer 2027. The Texas Medical Association successfully advocated for state budget funding to improve PEMS during the 2025 session.

The Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) announced the new login system, which affects PEMS and four other online applications. On June 8, TMHP will send physicians an email with details on how to change their logins, including picking one of three multifactor authentication options going live in June.

TMHP says all physicians using PEMS must go through the login reset process by June 15 or lose access to the system.

The new IAMOnline platform, which requires physicians to change their login information, will “provide a secure, single-entry point for TMHP applications,” per the agency.

“The added layer of security, that's always a welcome thing,” said William Brendle Glomb, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Council on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Uninsured, and chief medical officer for Waco Family Medicine.

Dr. Glomb observes that the information shared on these applications should be kept secure.

He adds that multifactor authentication – a security measure which requires users to confirm their identity, typically via a code sent to an individual user’s email account or smartphone – should already be familiar to physicians and their staff, who may use it personally via online banking or other consumer websites. They may even maintain such systems in their own practices to ensure patients have secure access to their medical information.

TMHP says that effective June 12, it will transition to IAMOnline. Each physician must set up an IAMOnline account, choose a new password, and select a multifactor authentication option by June 15.

IAMOnline offers physicians three different avenues for authentication: the default email confirmation, Okta Verify, or Google Authenticator.

In addition to PEMS, IAMOnline will be required for physicians to access:

• MedLog, for reconciling Medicaid claims from the past three to 10 months;
• Manage IMD Clients, for managing Institutions for Mental Diseases clients;
• Electronic Remittance Advice, for managing Medicaid claims, including payment details, claim status, and adjustments; and
• PA on the Portal, for managing prior authorization requests.

Physicians should look for an email from DoNotReply@comms.tmhp.com on June 8 and can contact the Electronic Data Interchange Help Desk at 888-863-3638 for questions along the way, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

HHSC also confirmed to Texas Medicine Today that PEMS will overhauled over the next year.

“HHSC is redesigning PEMS to make it easier for [physicians] to use,” the spokesperson said. “The redesign is focused on creating a more user-friendly and efficient experience for providers, including improvements to enrollment workflows, usability, and system functionality. The agency plans to launch the updated system in summer 2027.”

During its 2025 session, responding to TMA advocacy, the Texas Legislature authorized funding to bolster PEMS, and passed Senate Bill 1266 to pave the way for improvements. Rep. Greg Bonnen, MD (R-Friendswood), chair of that session’s House Committee on Appropriations, previously characterized that move to Texas Medicine Today as an efficiency-minded move.

Contact TMA’s Physician Payment Resource Center with any payment issues, including Medicaid payment issues.