COEUR d'ALENE — More than 4,000 Idahoans enrolled the state's Medicaid program for adults with developmental disabilities will no longer have their funding determined by an unknown formula, thanks to a settlement between the ACLU of Idaho and the state's department of health and welfare.

On Tuesday, the ACLU of Idaho announced it, as well as co-counsel James Piotrowski, received initial approval for a settlement agreement with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare after more than five years of litigation. Under the terms of the settlement, systematic changes will be made to that way the department provides adults who have developmental disabilities with Medicaid funding that allows them to live more independent lives.

“We are pleased to see a new era on the horizon for Idahoans with developmental disabilities, as well as their families and advocates,” said Leo Morales, executive director of the ACLU of Idaho. “Hopefully this settlement will bolster the voice of these Idahoans, while also permanently protecting their constitutional rights.”

The lawsuit began in 2012, according to a press release from the ACLU of Idaho, when many adults in the Idaho Medicaid program for community-based service for developmental disabilities saw cuts to their service levels. The cuts, the release adds, were computed using a formula that the Department of Health and Welfare refused to disclose, claiming it was a "trade secret."

Idaho Federal District Court Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered the cuts be reversed, which restored approximately $30 million in Medicaid assistance annually. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare appealed Winmill's decision, but in 2015 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order.

ACLU of Idaho attorneys and Piotrowski, who represented all of the adults in the program in the class action suit, continued to take legal action by challenging the previously secret formula itself. Earlier this year, the release states, Winmill struck down the formula, as well as other aspects of the program.

According to the release, Winmill determined the formula and aspects of the program were unconstitutional because they "arbitrarily deprive participants of their property rights and hence violate due process." The court ordered the Idaho agency to make systematic changes to the program, and the release states that the settlement approved Monday addresses those changes.

"We look forward to working closely with the adults who receive these services, along with their families and advocates," said Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. "This program has always been dedicated to helping adults with developmental disabilities live full and successful lives in their communities. We are committed to honoring participants’ choices and hearing their voices to help improve the program through the agreement."

Shanahan added the agency's next step is to begin working on a resource allocation model that can be used to determine budgets for program participants. To accomplish this, the department will work directly with participants, their families and advocates and the Human Services Research Institute in Oregon.

In the meantime, the department must also make immediate changes to protect the due process rights of participants through training and reimbursement for advocates to help participants appeal their assistance levels.

“We have reached a critical juncture in this case, but the work is far from over,” said Richard Eppink, ACLU of Idaho legal director. “Now it is up to Idahoans with developmental disabilities, and those who love and advocate for them, to mobilize as the state works on these important changes. The Department of Health and Welfare must engage with you under this settlement, but it is so very important that you get involved so that your voice is heard.”

The ACLU of Idaho has established a website, www.OurHealthandWelfare.org, for those impacted by the settlement to keep informed and involved.

More information about the settlement, including a copy of the settlement agreement itself, is available on the ACLU of Idaho website at www.acluidaho.org. The court will hold a hearing to decide whether to grant final approval to the settlement on Jan. 12, 2017.