The people getting squeezed out of mental-health care.
A few months ago, I attended a round table discussion about mental health policy. That’s
not what it turned out to be. What it devolved into was a conversation about Medicaid.
What was never discussed was is a population we don’t talk about enough about when we
discuss access to behavioral healthcare: the under-insured.
The people who make too much money to qualify for meaningful assistance and nowhere
near enough money to privately fund the level of care a family member needs.
I see families caught in this gap constantly.
They have insurance.
They have jobs.
They have done what they were told responsible adults are supposed to do.
Then a mental-health crisis happens, and they discover just how little of the healthcare
they need may be covered.
Often, the best treatment comes at an extremely high price. The great innovative treatment
centers with phenomenal outcomes rarely accept insurance or if they do, it only covers a
fraction of the costs. Partly in response to the hope inspiring but ultimately toothless
Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Parity Act (look it up) The insurance companies
started engaging third party cutouts. Small separate insurers whose only function is to
repeatedly deny benefits.
That creates a terrible paradox:
Families in crisis are being asked to make enormously consequential healthcare decisions
while simultaneously navigating an insurance system they barely understand.
We talk about mental health awareness. We admit that substance use disorders have in one
way or another affected the lives of almost everyone we meet. We pay lip-service to
destigmatizing mental illness. Yet, we continue to allow insurance companies to block
access to meaningful care.
Access is a different conversation.
