Medical insurers in the United States may soon have to change their approach to mental health care, as US president Joe Biden has called them out for making it too difficult for their clients to get the help they need.
“Insurers still make it far too difficult to get mental healthcare,” Biden said at a press briefing in the East Room at the White House on Tuesday.
“Their networks of providers are badly inadequate, with far fewer psychiatrists, therapists, and other mental health professionals compared to all other mental specialties,” he said.
The president announced new steps to expand access to mental healthcare, which would require health insurance plans to identify gaps in the healthcare they provide.
“For example, they’d need to measure how many mental health providers are in their networks, how much they are paying these providers, how difficult it is for someone to join their network, how often doctors have to get the so-called prior authorisation before they can treat a patient,” Biden said.
Mental healthcare is healthcare
“We can all agree mental healthcare is healthcare.
“It’s essential to people’s wellbeing and their ability to lead a full and productive life, to find joy, to find purpose, to take care of themselves and their loved ones. It’s about dignity,” he said.
“Right now, for millions of Americans, mental healthcare and treatment for substance abuse is out of reach.
“I don’t know what the difference between breaking your arm and having a mental breakdown is,” Biden said.
“It’s health. There is no distinction,” he said.
He pointed to the poor record of insurance companies when it comes to settling mental health claims.
“In 2020, less than half of all adults with mental illness diagnosis received care for it.”
He said the numbers were even worse for children, with nearly 70% of the children who seek care for mental health or addiction not receiving it.
True mental health parity
“We must fulfil the promise of true mental health parity for all Americans now,” Biden said.
“Even with private insurance, patients are often forced to seek out-of-network care at significantly higher costs – if they can find it,” Biden said.
“Seeing a therapist can cost 200 bucks a visit or more. That’s $800 a month if you have a session every week, which is often what patients need,” he said.
And the problem may not be showing signs of improving.
“People with insurance are twice as likely to have to go out-of-network for mental health care compared to physical healthcare. And that gap has only gotten wider,” he said.
“Some of you have dealt with this more than once. You get referrals to see mental health specialists. But when you make the appointment, they say, ‘I can’t see you until your doctor submits the paperwork and gets special permission from the insurance company’.
“Give me a break,” Biden said.
“It’s ridiculous. It really is. And it prevents people from getting the care they need.”