MAP-It

Project Vision

These policy changes often occur quickly and unevenly across states, with limited transparency, making it difficult for people with disabilities, families, and advocates to understand what is happening and how to respond. The project’s purpose is to create a public‑facing, accessible policy tracker that translates complex Medicaid actions into clear, usable information that supports disability‑led advocacy and civic engagement at the state level. MAP‑It is explicitly informed and driven by community priorities, centering lived experience while strengthening links between disability and older‑adult advocacy networks.

History

In March 2026, the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) received a one‑year grant from the WITH Foundation to launch MAP‑It: A Medicaid Action & Policy Impact Tracker for People with Disabilities. The project is led by HSRI, in collaboration with colleagues at the George Washington University (GWU), and in partnership with the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) for communications. MAP‑It is intentionally aligned with a SCAN Foundation–funded planning study (January–September 2026) that is designing a sustainable national infrastructure to track HCBS changes affecting older adults and people with disabilities across the lifespan.

Strategic Aims

MAP‑It will:

  • Build a public, accessible tracker of state‑level Medicaid HCBS policy actions across the U.S., with content designed for non‑expert audiences.
  • Track real‑time policy shifts, including eligibility changes, waiver actions, budget decisions, and public comment opportunities that affect HCBS access and delivery.
  • Leverage the Grassroots Project’s national advocacy networks to ensure lived experience informs what is tracked, how information is framed, and how it is shared.
  • Bridge disability and aging policy efforts by aligning methods, data frameworks, and engagement strategies with the SCAN Foundation–funded planning study.
  • Produce an implementation‑ready tool and database that can evolve beyond the pilot year and support future policy monitoring and research.

Impact

MAP‑It will help ensure that Medicaid policy changes affecting Home‑ and Community‑Based Services do not happen in the dark. By making state‑level actions visible and understandable as they occur, the project will support people with disabilities, advocates, and community organizations to respond early, engage effectively, and hold decision‑makers accountable. Through coordination with national disability and aging networks, MAP‑It will strengthen shared learning across states and contribute to more equitable, transparent Medicaid systems that better support people with disabilities and older adults over time.