Why Mental Health Coverage Needs Government Support

More than a half of adults who seek treatment for mental health issues in the United States do not receive it. Lisa Gomez and her team holds accountable the health plans that cover more than 130 million American workers, retirees, and their families. If a plan violates the law requiring insurers to cover mental health treatments as much as it does physical treatments -the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act- it becomes Gomez’s problem.

Lisa wants patients, families, providers, and employers to understand that they have rights, and her team has their back. As she said: “If people are trying to get treatment, a doctor’s appointment or prescriptions covered, and something doesn’t seem right, don’t accept that it’s always been hard.”

Unlawful limitations require people with mental health and substance use disorders to run faster, jump higher and clear more hurdles to get the benefits they’re entitled to. That’s wrong, and it has to stop.