Access to healthcare should not depend on where you live, how much you earn or the challenges you face in your day-to-day life. Yet for many individuals and families, barriers such as cost, transportation, language, time and health literacy can make it difficult to get the care they need. CareFirst Community Health Plan Maryland (CareFirst CHPMD) is helping remove those barriers—and making it easier for members to get the care they need.
Making Healthcare Easier to Access
Medicaid plays an important role in helping millions of Americans get healthcare coverage. Through CareFirst CHPMD, eligible Maryland residents can enroll in a plan that connects them to a wide range of services designed to support their health at every stage of life.
The enrollment process is designed to reduce barriers from the start. Individuals can apply online, by phone, through a mobile app or in person at local health departments—giving them several flexible ways to get covered. CareFirst also works to make information easier to understand through multilingual resources and website translation, helping more people learn about their options and take the next step with confidence.
Meeting People Where They Are
Removing barriers to healthcare means going beyond traditional settings. Through its partnership with Fabric Health, CareFirst is meeting individuals in trusted, everyday community spaces—like local laundromats—to connect them to coverage and care.
Bilingual care coordinators help individuals understand their benefits, understand where they can enroll or renew Medicaid coverage and connect to services such as primary care, food assistance and transportation. By bringing support directly into neighborhoods, this partnership helps overcome challenges like time, transportation and system complexity, making it easier for people to take the first step toward better health.
Fabric Health’s community-based approach—supporting families with applications, renewals and benefit navigation—ensures individuals not only gain coverage but keep it.
Helping People Access Care
Access to healthcare is about more than insurance—it’s about making it easier to receive care. CareFirst CHPMD members have access to a network of more than 15,000 providers across Maryland.
For added convenience, CloseKnit, a virtual-first primary care practice, offers same-day appointments through an easy-to-use app, with care teams guiding members to in-person or specialty care when needed. To help members get the care they need, CareFirst CHPMD offers transportation benefits for non-emergency medical appointments, making it easier to travel to and from care.
Supporting the Whole Person
Health is shaped by more than clinical care—and CareFirst partners with organizations that address the social and cultural factors influencing health outcomes.
CareFirst CHPMD partners with Wider Circle to strengthen social connections and reduce isolation—an often-overlooked barrier to health. Through neighborhood-based programs, members are connected with peers, local resources and health education opportunities that empower them to stay engaged in their care and support one another.
These partnerships bring care beyond the doctor’s office—into communities, homes and daily life.
Supporting Maternal and Family Health
CareFirst CHPMD is committed to supporting families through pregnancy, birth and beyond. Members can access maternity programs that include prenatal care, nutrition support, educational resources and essential items like breast pumps and vitamins at no cost.
Additional programs offer nutrition coaching, wellness support and meal/grocery delivery to help members have healthier pregnancies and smoother postpartum recoveries. Together, these services help reduce barriers and support the health of both parents and babies.
CareFirst CHPMD, recently launched Every Step of Your Pregnancy, a mobile-friendly website, to help families better understand and use these benefits.
Building a More Equitable Future
At its core, CareFirst’s Medicaid plan reflects a broader commitment to health equity—ensuring that everyone has a fair and equal opportunity to achieve their best health.
By combining comprehensive benefits, innovative care programs, community-based partnerships and accessible digital tools like multilingual and translated resources, CareFirst is working to remove barriers at every step of the healthcare journey.
To learn more, visit carefirst.com/medicaid.