The Medicaid Reference Desk (http://www.thedesk.info) is looking for stories from people with cognitive disabilities and family members about how they have used Medicaid to increase their independence. They will collect written and recorded stories for use on http://www.thedesk.info, the only web site that explains Medicaid for people with cognitive disabilities.

If they use your story, you will receive a free T-Shirt and $50. If you have a story, send an email message to stories@thedesk.info or call toll free at 1-877-431-8532.  If you know someone else who has a story, forward this information to them or tell them about it.  They are especially interested in stories from Hispanic families, for presentation in Spanish.

If your organization publishes a newsletter, please include this update in the next issue.

The Medicaid Reference Desk is an online resource at http://www.thedesk.info that explains Medicaid in basic terms, state by state. It gives people with cognitive disabilities, family members, and advocates information about what is available through their State Medicaid Plans and waivers.  The site also gives information on where to apply for services.

The site explains each Medicaid service in ordinary language.  People can see and hear the information rather than read it. So far, there are about 3,000 recordings on the site.

The following 21 states are on the site:

AL, CA, CO, DC, HI,
IA, IN, LA, MD, MT,
NH, NJ, NY, OK, OR,
PA, RI, SC, TN, WA, WI

These 10 states are in the process of analysis and will be launched by September 2005:

AZ, CT, GA, ID, IL,
ME, MO, OH, TX, VT

A brochure for people with cognitive disabilities and families is now available and can be ordered in quantities by sending an email to brochures@thedesk.info.

The Medicaid Reference Desk is funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) as a Project of National Significance and the NEC Foundation of America. Members of the project team are: Steve Eidelman (The Arc of the United States), Nancy Ward (Oklahoma People First), Laurie Powers and Diann Drummond (Portland State University), Lukki Indrasutanta and Elbert Johns (TheArcLink Incorporated).