Brain Injury and Disability Help in Every State: Official Starting Points
A practical starting directory for people living with brain injury or disability, families, and supporters. Choose a state, identify an agency, and ask for the next step that fits your needs.
Published by ABI Resources. Prepared with AI assistance and checked against the official source pages linked below on September 17, 2026. This directory is general information, not medical, legal, or benefits advice. Confirm current rules and contact details with the responsible agency.
Urgent help
For immediate danger or a medical emergency, call 911. See CDC emergency guidance for people with disabilities.
For emotional distress or a suicide crisis, call or text 988. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline also provides online chat information. Do not wait for a directory response in an emergency.
How to use this directory
Choose your state below. Most entries are Medicaid or health and human services starting points; they are not confirmed brain injury programs. Ask the agency which office handles brain injury support, home and community-based services, or the specific help you need.
A federal locator entry opens a national contact directory: find your state there. It does not open a state program page. Agencies make their own eligibility and service decisions; a listing here does not establish coverage, an available waiver slot, or entitlement to a service.
For independent living, assistive technology, or disability advocacy, use ACL’s Disability Information and Access Locator (DIAL). Enter your location to find community organizations, including Centers for Independent Living and Protection and Advocacy agencies.
Who handles Medicaid questions and disputes?
Federal law and CMS: federal Medicaid requirements set the framework. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversees state programs; it generally does not decide an individual’s eligibility or arrange a missed visit.
State Medicaid agency: the state administers Medicaid under federal requirements and its approved program. Start here for eligibility, coverage rules, application help and the office responsible for your program.
Health plan and provider, when applicable: a Medicaid health plan may handle service authorizations, decision notices and plan appeals. A provider can address delivery, scheduling and clinical records. Ask who made the decision; a provider complaint is not automatically a coverage appeal.
State hearing process: a formal state hearing can review covered agency or plan decisions under the applicable process. A plan appeal may be required first. Follow the specific notice and current official instructions, including how to request urgent review or continued services if applicable.
Federal civil-rights, integrity and oversight routes: discrimination, suspected fraud or program oversight concerns have separate reporting channels. Those reports do not replace a Medicaid appeal or preserve its deadline. For those routes, see the companion guide Medicaid Service Problems: Appeals, Complaints, Federal Oversight, and What to Report.
Before you contact them
Before calling: write down your state and county, the help you need now, and one question. Have any relevant notice or deadline nearby. Ask someone you trust to join you if that would help.
Try this: “I live in [county]. I need help with [daily activities, services, or coverage]. Which office should I contact, and what is the first step?”
Ask about application steps, current eligibility rules, assessments, waiting lists, deadlines, and other options while waiting. Request plain-language written instructions, an interpreter, or an accessible format if needed.
Record the date, office, contact name, and next step. Share personal records only through the agency’s confirmed secure process. If the office cannot help, ask for a named referral rather than starting over.
What to report: name the service or benefit, the state/program and plan if known, what was requested or approved, what happened and when, the notice received, the practical effect on daily needs, and the outcome you are requesting. Separate facts you recorded from questions you still need answered.
Access and communication: ask for the interpreter, accessible format, communication support or authorized representative you need. Request a plain-language written next step and confirmation of which office is responsible.
Privacy: keep your working notes private. Do not put Medicaid IDs, Social Security numbers, diagnoses or medical records in public comments, website contact forms or ordinary unsecured email. Confirm the official secure submission process before sending required identifiers or records; keep originals and send relevant copies.
A companion Medicaid Service Problem Documentation Worksheet is being prepared for publication. Until it is available, keep private notes that record the notice, service, dates, contacts, requested outcome, and proof of submission.
Choose your state or DC
Use a state link to jump to its entry. Keyboard users can Tab to a link and press Enter. Each group has a return link to this index.
Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California
Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire
Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island
South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah
Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin
Alabama–Georgia
Alabama
Alabama Medicaid: recipient help and hearing contacts — Choose Recipient Call Center for member help or Fair Hearings for the listed hearing contact.
Alaska
Alaska Medicaid: applications and member help — State Medicaid application information and assistance contacts.
Arizona
Arizona AHCCCS: member contacts — Choose the member or applicant contact that fits your question.
Arizona AHCCCS: grievances, appeals and hearings — Routes differ for applicants, health-plan members and fee-for-service members; use the section matching your notice.
Arkansas
Arkansas DHS: Medicaid and benefits help — Use the Medicaid/benefits helpline or Access Arkansas assistance section.
Arkansas DHS: beneficiary appeal instructions — Use the beneficiary section for eligibility, case closure or Medicaid/ARKids payment decisions; provider appeals are separate.
California
California Medi-Cal: find your county office — County offices help with Medi-Cal applications and eligibility questions.
California: request a state hearing — Check the Medi-Cal section and your notice for the route that applies to a county, state or managed-care decision.
Colorado
Health First Colorado — Medicaid member resources — State agency starting point.
Connecticut
Connecticut DSS — ABI Waiver application starting point — Direct brain injury program: read the application instructions and ask DSS about the current process.
Delaware
Delaware Medicaid and Medical Assistance — State agency starting point.
District of Columbia
District of Columbia Medicaid: member assistance contacts — Use Member Assistance/ESA for member questions; the page also lists provider contacts.
DC OAH: hearings about home-health and EPD waiver services — This page is specifically for in-home health and Elderly and Persons with Physical Disabilities waiver disputes; it is not a universal Medicaid appeal route.
Florida
Florida Agency for Health Care Administration — State agency starting point.
Georgia
Georgia Department of Community Health — State agency starting point.
Hawaii–Maryland
Hawaii
Hawaii Med-QUEST — Medicaid — State agency starting point.
Idaho
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare — State agency starting point.
Illinois
Illinois Medicaid — customer guide — State agency starting point.
Indiana
Indiana Division of Family Resources — State agency starting point.
Iowa
Iowa Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
Kansas
Kansas KanCare: member questions and help — Member FAQs explain contacts and help with concerns about KanCare.
Kansas KanCare: state fair hearings — This page addresses managed-care state fair hearings following the plan appeal process; match the instructions to your decision notice.
Kentucky
Kentucky CHFS: Medicaid and benefits contacts — State cabinet contacts include benefits assistance; ask for the Medicaid office that handles your question.
Kentucky Medicaid: appeals and complaints — Use the member instructions for eligibility or service disputes; provider procedures are also on this page.
Louisiana
Louisiana Medicaid: program and regional help — State Medicaid starting point with regional offices for application help and questions.
Louisiana Medicaid: how to appeal — Use the instructions that match the Medicaid decision and notice you received.
Maine
Maine Department of Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
Maryland
Maryland Department of Health — State agency starting point.
Massachusetts–New Jersey
Massachusetts
Massachusetts MassHealth: member contacts — Member customer service, health-plan and accommodation contacts.
MassHealth: appeal a decision — Official Board of Hearings instructions for challenging a MassHealth decision.
Michigan
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Human Services — State agency starting point.
Mississippi
Mississippi Medicaid — coverage information — State agency starting point.
Missouri
Missouri Department of Social Services — State agency starting point.
Montana
Montana Public Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
Nebraska
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
Nevada
Nevada Medicaid: recipient help and hearing contacts — Choose Medicaid Recipient Customer Service for member help or the Medicaid Hearings section for hearing contacts.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Medicaid: contact directory — Contacts for applying, member questions and health-plan assistance.
New Hampshire DHHS: administrative appeals — The Administrative Appeals Unit reviews DHHS benefit decisions, including Medicaid; follow your notice and the applicable program instructions.
New Jersey
New Jersey Department of Human Services — State agency starting point.
New Mexico–South Carolina
New Mexico
New Mexico Medicaid: Medical Assistance Division help and contacts — State agency starting point.
New York
New York Medicaid: applications and member helpline — State application guidance and Medicaid Helpline; the appropriate eligibility office depends on your circumstances.
North Carolina
North Carolina Medicaid — State agency starting point.
North Dakota
North Dakota — Apply for Help — State agency starting point.
Ohio
Ohio Benefits: applications and existing benefits — Apply for medical assistance or sign in to view and manage your benefits and applications.
Ohio State Hearings: SHARE request portal — Official state-hearing request portal; JavaScript is required. Follow your own decision notice and any required health-plan appeal sequence before requesting a hearing. This portal does not bypass managed-care appeal procedures.
Ohio Medicaid application and hotline information (PDF) — Call the Medicaid Consumer Hotline at (800) 324-8680 for help completing an application or other questions.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Health Care Authority — State agency starting point.
Oregon
Oregon ONE — benefits portal — State agency starting point.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services — State agency starting point.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
South Carolina
South Carolina Health and Human Services — State agency starting point.
South Dakota–Wyoming
South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Social Services — State agency starting point.
Tennessee
TennCare — official contact options — State Medicaid contact page: choose the contact route that fits your question.
Texas
Texas HHS: benefits and Medicaid service help — Use Help with Benefits for benefit questions; the page separately identifies the ombudsman for service difficulties, including Medicaid managed care.
Texas HHS: client fair-hearing questions — Client guidance explains hearing requests through the agency or managed-care organization identified in your notice.
Utah
Utah Medicaid — State agency starting point.
Vermont
Vermont Health Connect — State agency starting point.
Virginia
Virginia Medicaid — State agency starting point.
Washington
Washington Apple Health: Medicaid contacts — Official applicant and member assistance contacts.
Washington Apple Health: file an appeal — Check whether your decision came from HCA or your health plan and use the corresponding instructions.
West Virginia
West Virginia Department of Human Services — contacts — State agency contact directory: ask to be connected to Medicaid or disability support.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Health Services — State agency starting point.
Wyoming
Wyoming Department of Health — State agency starting point.
Related next steps
Sources and review
State agency starting points were selected from the Medicaid.gov state assistance directory and checked individually. Connecticut links directly to its DSS ABI Waiver instructions; Tennessee and West Virginia use current agency contact pages.
CMS federal policy guidance — Federal Medicaid requirements and policy guidance.
CMS state plan amendments — State plans describe how each state administers its Medicaid program within federal requirements.
This guide includes 51 direct state or District of Columbia destinations and no federal-locator-only entries. Twelve separate state appeal or hearing pages are linked where their scope was verified; Alabama and Nevada also list hearing contacts on their primary contact pages. Ohio now links directly to Ohio Benefits and the State Hearings SHARE portal. A listed route does not establish eligibility or replace the instructions in your own notice.
The date above records a source-page and link check, not a promise that programs are accepting applications or that every detail has been confirmed by staff. Rules and contact details can change. Confirm current rules and contact details with the responsible agency before acting.
Corrections and contact
To report a broken link or request a more accessible version, email ABI@CTBRAININJURY.COM. Include the state, the link label, and the correction needed. Do not email medical records, benefit numbers, or other sensitive personal information. This contact is not an emergency service or a state benefits application route.
Independence and disclosure
ABI Resources is not a government agency. A link does not imply endorsement, partnership, or a recommendation to choose a particular provider.
This directory links to official or neutral starting points. Listing a resource does not imply partnership, endorsement, guaranteed service, or a referral relationship.
Health information disclaimer
This directory provides general information and navigation help. It does not diagnose or treat a condition, replace a qualified clinician’s advice, or determine benefits eligibility. Direct health questions to a qualified professional and program questions to the responsible agency.
