By NextBestFitPay mental health clinicians at parity
Raise rates so therapists and psychiatrists accept insurance.
Pays enough that clinicians accept coverage.
Review ledgerHow this path connects
Addresses
Mental health care is hard to getThis path
Pay mental health clinicians at parity
Concrete changes if chosen
What would actually have to change in law, agencies, payment rules, or systems.
- Raise mental health rates to parity with medical care
Effects
Each effect has its own page: the evidence, the case that it is or isn't a real cost, and whom it affects.
What it fixes
- Mental health care is hard to get
Raising payment rates encourages therapists and psychiatrists to accept insurance and reduces cash-only practice.
What it creates or worsens
- Raises spending or loosens control over it
Raising payment rates for therapists and psychiatrists is costly.
- Takes years, or money up front, before it pays off
Higher payment rates do not add mental health clinicians quickly.
Who's affected
Who gains
- People needing mental health care
- Mental health care is hard to get: Shortages and limited insurance acceptance make mental health treatment hard to obtain.
- Family caregivers and affected families
- Mental health care is hard to get: Shortages and limited insurance acceptance make mental health treatment hard to obtain.
- Hospitals, clinics, and care organizations
- Mental health care is hard to get: Emergency departments board psychiatric patients who cannot access other care.
- Doctors, nurses, and other clinicians
- Mental health care is hard to get: Raising payment rates encourages therapists and psychiatrists to accept insurance and reduces cash-only practice.
- People with ongoing or specialist care needs
- Mental health care is hard to get: Raising payment rates encourages therapists and psychiatrists to accept insurance and reduces cash-only practice.
Who loses
- Cash-pay and private care practices
- Mental health care is hard to get: Limited insurance acceptance supports cash-pay treatment.
- Health insurers, brokers, and their shareholders
- Mental health care is hard to get: They benefit from avoiding behavioral health costs.
- Taxpayers and public budgets
- Raises spending or loosens control over it: Public budgets pay the added spending.
Where it has been tried
- U.S. parity laws: Parity on paper, not in pay.
- U.S.: RTI’s 2024 report, using 2021 claims, found medical/surgical office-visit reimbursement averaged 21.7% higher than behavioral-health reimbursement and behavioral-health out-of-network clinician use was 3.5 times as frequent, without establishing that the payment disparity caused that difference.Sources: RTI International (2024)