K.W. v. Armstrong

K.W. v. Armstrong was filed in 2012 to give adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Idaho a fair chance.

Recent Update: As of 2024, the Court appointed a Special Master to work with Medicaid, ACLU of Idaho and Idahoans with developmental disabilities to create and implement a new system that adheres to the court's settlement agreement.

Stay up to date with this case and the Idaho Medicaid program for adults with developmental disabilities on the Our Health and Welfare website.

About the Lawsuit

The ACLU of Idaho represents adults with developmental disabilities throughout the state in a case called K.W. v. Armstrong. With functional ages of 8-years-old and below, Idahoans with developmental disabilities rely on Medicaid assistance to live in their communities and with their families, rather than in costly institutional settings.

When the State of Idaho drastically cut their assistance to dangerously low levels, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare claimed that the reasons for the cuts were “trade secrets” and refused to disclose the formula it used to calculate the reductions. We obtained an injunction that stopped the cuts and required the State to make its Medicaid formulas public for all Idaho residents to review, which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld in 2015.

In March 2016, Idaho’s federal district court struck down the Department’s formula and ordered to State to develop comprehensive plans to bring its system up to constitutional muster. The Court approved a class action settlement in 2016, requiring the Department of Health and Welfare to develop a new system, with input and oversight by the ACLU of Idaho, participants and their families throughout the state.

Although a settlement was reached in 2016, Idaho Medicaid has yet to implement a new system that is fair. In 2024, the Court appointed a "Special Master" to work with all parties to speed up the process.

For more recent updates on this lawsuit, visit the Our Health and Welfare website.