Idaho healthcare providers say a third patient has died in less than three months after Magellan Healthcare cut mobile mental healthcare services under the state’s Medicaid program, the Idaho Capital Sun reported Feb. 20.
The deaths involved patients who had been receiving Assertive Community Treatment, a specialized mobile treatment program. Providers said that in the year and a half before the cuts, only one patient in the program died, according to the report. About 200 people in Idaho are enrolled in ACT, Magellan Healthcare’s Idaho executive director, David Welsh, wrote in a December declaration tied to a federal lawsuit.
Laura Scuri, co-owner of Access Behavioral Health Services in Boise and leader of the treatment team, told the Sun she believed the latest death was preventable. She said the program was designed to help patients manage basic needs and intervene when symptoms worsened. An official cause of death has not been released.
Magellan, who runs Idaho Medicaid mental health benefits, saw its pay rate reduced by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare as part of state budget cuts ordered by Gov. Brad Little. State officials have said ACT services remain available, though providers argue current reimbursement does not support staffed mobile teams.
Providers also said the cuts would drive up costs, according to the report.
Idaho state Rep. Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley, said he plans to introduce legislation to reinstate the program at an estimated cost of $4 million annually. The bill has not yet been introduced, the report said.
Becker’s has reached out to the health department and Magellan for comment and will update this article if more information becomes available.
