Hi, guys.

I'm a bedbound Medicaid recipient in Idaho. Since October 2025, I've been fighting the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare after they denied my ADA accommodation for written communication.

I have POTS, MCAS, hEDS, and suspected severe ME/CFS, which is why phone calls and live communication are impossible for me. A September 2024 ER note shows me in a wheelchair, wearing sunglasses and earplugs, communicating by writing. I requested a simple accommodation: written communication instead of phone calls so I could access care. DHW ignored me, then denied me explicitly, telling me to "call the benefits department." They've shown thoroughly that they're unwilling to engage in good faith.

I've spent the last six months building a complete case record. I have emails, recorded voicemails, photographs, a log of over 100 days without care, and a full chronology. I've also filed complaints with CMS, HHS OCR, and the DOJ.

I've exhausted every avenue in Idaho. Disability Rights Idaho declined. The Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program sent me in circles. Idaho Legal Aid Services demanded a phone call, then ghosted me until I called them out. The ACLU of Idaho declined. The Idaho Human Rights Commission closed my complaint. The Department of Insurance confirmed DHW has sole jurisdiction and closed my case. The Attorney General sent a form letter. The Governor's office did not respond. State legislators ignored me. Multiple private attorneys in Idaho declined.

I've also reached out to law firms across the Ninth Circuit. Sirianni Youtz, Terrell Marshall, MacDonald Hoague & Bayless, Rosen Bien, Peiffer Wolf, Barbosa Group, Dardarian, and others. Some declined. Many did not respond at all. Lawyers are afraid of the risk. Contingency cases against state agencies are expensive and uncertain.

In theory, justice is supposed to be accessible to everyone. In practice, justice requires a lot of money. I have no income. I raised $95 for a medical pedicure when DHW refused to treat an infected toenail. I can't afford to pay a lawyer by the hour.

So I'm trying something else. I'm raising a retainer. $10,000 is the amount I believe will convince a solo practitioner or small civil rights firm to take my case. It's not enough to cover the full cost of litigation, but it's enough to show I'm serious. It would cover initial filing fees, service of process, and the first few months of work. The lawyer would still work on contingency for the remainder, but this retainer removes the barrier that's stopped every other lawyer from saying yes.

I arrived at this number by researching retainers for civil rights cases and looking at what other people have raised for similar legal fights.

If I raise this money, I can go back to the lawyers who said no and say: I have a retainer. Will you take my case now?

If you can help, I would be grateful. If you can't, sharing this campaign helps just as much.

Moriende