Idaho’s cancellation of its Assertive Community Treatment program in December has already resulted in at least two deaths, despite warnings from behavioral health providers that the cuts would prove fatal. The program, which had served about 200 people statewide as of November, provided intensive outreach to individuals with severe mental illness including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, focusing on medication compliance and housing stability.
A 36-year-old man with severe schizophrenia in the Idaho Falls area was found dead in an abandoned hotel weeks after the program’s December funding cut eliminated nursing visits that had been keeping him stabilized on medication. A second patient, a man in his late 40s near Pocatello, died in December from an infection following minor surgery—a death providers said was preventable, as he would have received medication oversight and encouraged medical care had the program remained active.
The Warning and Budget Rationale
When providers learned of the planned cuts, they warned state officials that deaths could occur within five weeks as patients’ medications wore off. Laura Scuri, a behavioral health provider running Boise’s program portion, stressed that the involved patients had such severe conditions they were unlikely to seek care independently and relied on providers’ proactive outreach. The state cut the program amid budget shortages following Governor Brad Little’s August call for a 3 percent reduction to the Health and Welfare Department’s budget.
Financial and Legal Aftermath
The program cost the state approximately $7 million annually. According to providers’ analyses submitted to the state, eliminating it has driven costs elsewhere: Assertive Community Treatment services cost about $80 per day per person, while hospitalization costs about $2,000 per day and jail costs about $450 per day. Providers told the state that without the program, former patients cycle through county jails, hospitals, and court systems at a combined annual cost of about $40 million.
Providers and patients sued Health and Welfare in state and federal cases in December to demand the program’s restoration. Restoring the program in fiscal year 2027 would cost approximately $4.3 million, according to the department. Both lawsuits remain active.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/feb/11/providers-said-people-would-die-if-idaho-cut-this-/