# After governor approves, Idaho health agency announces restored Medicaid mental health programs

- URL: https://theranews.net/blog/2026-04-08-after-governor-approves-idaho-health-agency-announces-restored-medicaid-mental-h-ef4bb0/
- Published: 2026-04-08
- Type: Archive summary (AI-assisted summary of third-party reporting)
- Original outlet: kmvt
- Original report: https://www.kmvt.com/2026/04/07/after-governor-approves-idaho-health-agency-announces-restored-medicaid-mental-health-programs/
- Topics: idaho
- Publisher: TheraNews, operated by AdvancedCare USA Inc.
- Notice: Educational content, not medical, legal, billing or financial advice. Cite the original outlet, not this summary.

> After the governor signed into law a bill to reinstate cut Medicaid mental health programs, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced it would start reimbursing providers for the full services.

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Idaho's Department of Health and Welfare announced it would immediately resume reimbursing providers for two Medicaid mental health programs following gubernatorial approval. Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1446, which restores funding for the Assertive Community Treatment program, a mobile treatment program designed to serve people with severe mental illness who have struggled in routine treatment settings, and peer support services, which help people navigate mental health treatment. Both programs had been cut following the governor's order for budget cuts.

Idaho Medicaid Administrator Sasha O'Connell stated that providers could immediately begin working with managed care contractors Magellan, United Healthcare, and Molina to restore services. The announcement came as part of an information release posted Friday, with O'Connell noting that the contractors would work with providers to reach out to individual members who had been receiving the services before their elimination.

The restoration follows reports of four patient deaths in less than three months after the initial cut of the Assertive Community Treatment program. In contrast, providers reported just one patient death in the 18 months before the service was eliminated. Magellan's Idaho Executive Director David Welsh stated that the company "supports the State of Idaho's decision to reinstate Assertive Community Treatment services." According to Access Behavioral Health Services co-owner Laura Scuri, providers are working with Magellan to understand the reinstatement process and hoped services would be restored within approximately one week, though full implementation was expected to take about a month as systems reconfigure and staff positions are filled.

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*This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: [https://www.kmvt.com/2026/04/07/after-governor-approves-idaho-health-agency-announces-restored-medicaid-mental-health-programs/](https://www.kmvt.com/2026/04/07/after-governor-approves-idaho-health-agency-announces-restored-medicaid-mental-health-programs/)*