To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a website to promote awareness of available resources for individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Think Differently Database Act requires the Department of Health and Human Services to create a publicly accessible website within 3 years that provides comprehensive information about resources available to people with disabilities and their families. The website must include details about Medicaid eligibility for disabled individuals, State-by-State eligibility requirements and contact information, information about long-term care services, and wait times for home and community-based services programs.
Who Benefits and How
- People with disabilities benefit from having a single, centralized source of information about Medicaid eligibility and disability services, making it easier to navigate the complex system of benefits.
- Caregivers and families of disabled individuals gain easier access to information about available support services, eligibility requirements, and how to contact their State Medicaid office.
- State Medicaid offices may see increased efficiency as the federal website can answer common questions and direct people to the right resources.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- The Department of Health and Human Services must fund, develop, and maintain the website, representing an administrative burden and ongoing operational cost.
- The Social Security Administration must collaborate on promotional activities through its annual Red Book updates.
- Federal taxpayers bear the cost of website development and maintenance.
Key Provisions
- HHS must create a publicly accessible website within 3 years of enactment
- Website must include information about disability-based Medicaid eligibility, including specific State eligibility requirements
- Must provide contact information for all State Medicaid offices
- Must include average wait times for home and community-based services waiver programs
- Exempts the website implementation from Paperwork Reduction Act requirements
- May use the existing thinkdifferently.net website as a model
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires HHS to create a publicly accessible website providing resources and information for individuals with disabilities, their caregivers, and families, including Medicaid eligibility information and State-specific contact details.
Who Benefits
- Individuals with disabilities seeking Medicaid and support services information
- Caregivers and families of people with disabilities
- State Medicaid offices (through increased awareness)
Who Bears Costs
- Department of Health and Human Services (website creation and maintenance)
- Federal taxpayers (funding for website development and updates)
Key Policy Areas
Healthcare, Disability Services, Social Welfare, Government Information
Primary Purpose
Requires HHS to create a publicly accessible website providing resources and information for individuals with disabilities, their caregivers, and families, including Medicaid eligibility information and State-specific contact details.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Improve information accessibility for disabled individuals by centralizing Medicaid and disability resource information on a single federal website"
Identified Gains
- Individuals with disabilities seeking Medicaid and support services information
- Caregivers and families of people with disabilities
- State Medicaid offices (through increased awareness)
- Social Security Administration (through collaboration requirement)
Identified Costs
- Department of Health and Human Services (website creation and maintenance)
- Federal taxpayers (funding for website development and updates)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReceived
Additional sponsors: Mr. Ryan, Mr. Trone, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Pappas, …
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole …
Mr. Molinaro (for himself and Ms. Sherrill) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Health and Human Services, State Medicaid offices
Positive-direction: State Medicaid offices
Negative-direction: Department of Health and Human Services
Caregivers and families of people with disabilities
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (explicitly defined in section 2)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology