Idaho cuts mental health program, leading to 3 patient deaths

Providers warned the state that ending the Assertive Community Treatment program would have dire impacts.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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Three patients have died since Idaho's Health and Welfare Department cut the Assertive Community Treatment program in December 2025 amid budget shortages. The program provided intensive oversight and medication management for people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Providers had warned the state that ending the program would lead to patients losing access to their medications and becoming disconnected from reality, leading to crises and potential deaths.

Why it matters

The Assertive Community Treatment program was a critical lifeline for Idahoans with severe mental illness, helping them stay on their medications and connected to care. Its cancellation highlights the difficult tradeoffs states face when balancing budgets, and the real human consequences that can result from cutting mental health services.

The details

The Assertive Community Treatment program provided intensive, community-based care coordination to help people with psychosis stay on their medications, which often involved monthly injections. Providers say that without this "intensive oversight," patients frequently "lose insight into their illness, stop medication, and become disconnected from reality while experiencing hallucinations and delusions." In the 18 months before the program was canceled, there was only one reported death among its approximately 200 patients statewide. But in the months since, three former patients have died, according to the program's former leaders.

  • The Assertive Community Treatment program was canceled by Idaho's Health and Welfare Department in December 2025.
  • In the 18 months before the program's cancellation, there was one reported death among its approximately 200 patients statewide.
  • Since the program's cancellation in December 2025, three former patients have died.

The players

Laura Scuri

Former contractor who ran the Boise chapter of the Assertive Community Treatment program.

Ric Boyce

Former leader of the Assertive Community Treatment program.

Idaho Health and Welfare Department

The state agency that canceled the Assertive Community Treatment program amid budget shortages.

Gov. Brad Little

The governor of Idaho who called for a 3% budget reduction at the Health and Welfare Department, leading to the program's cancellation.

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What they’re saying

“We told the state. We said, 'Look, if you do this, it'll take five weeks for people to start dying' once people's medications wear off.”

— Laura Scuri, Former contractor who ran the Boise chapter of the Assertive Community Treatment program (Idaho Statesman)

“Destabilization is already occurring. The increase in deaths makes that undeniable.”

— Laura Scuri and Ric Boyce, Former leaders of the Assertive Community Treatment program (News release)

What’s next

The Idaho Health and Welfare Department has not indicated any plans to reinstate the Assertive Community Treatment program or provide alternative intensive mental health services to fill the gap left by its cancellation.

The takeaway

The tragic deaths of three former patients of Idaho's Assertive Community Treatment program highlight the real human costs that can result when states make difficult budget decisions to cut mental health services. This case underscores the critical importance of maintaining access to comprehensive, community-based care for individuals with severe mental illness.