A federal judge has signed off on a preliminary settlement between developmentally-disabled Idaho residents and the State Department of Health and Welfare.
The settlement will require Idaho to develop a new tool for determining some Medicaid benefits, to give participants more information about budget changes and to help some participants with appeals.
ACLU-Idaho's executive director Leo Morales said Monday the lawsuit was about defending the basic constitutional rights of some of Idaho's most vulnerable residents.
The lawsuit began four years ago when a group of twelve Idaho residents with severe disabilities sued the Department of Health and Welfare for failing to disclose how it calculated their Medicaid benefits. The group contended that their benefits had been cut as much as forty percent, leaving them without the funds to get the care they need.
