When your therapist is out-of-network

Happy Hump Day, Shit Givers.

First of all, ICYMI, we just went live with our *Actually* Pro Life platform, which aims to bring the receipts on making all the actions we suggest as measurable as possible (read more about it here). We have 160+ Positions that all actions that we suggest here, in the app, and across all of our content are linked to, so it’s crystal clear what measurable outcomes each action is working towards.

So for today: May is Mental Health Awareness Month (I mean, is anyone not aware of their mental health at this point? Just look around.), and maybe, like me, your feeds are full of pastel graphics about self-care, breathing exercises, and the importance of reaching out. Which is all great and necessary!

But mental health care is so much more than that, and many people who need it can’t access it, because the system makes it difficult, expensive, and exhausting to reach.

So as usual, let’s do our favorite thing of throwing the kitchen sink at fixing everything that stands between people and the care they need.

Let’s go.

— Willow

Tens of millions of Americans go without health insurance at some point each year, which doesn’t just mean they aren’t getting an annual physical. It also means no therapy, no psychiatric medication, no crisis intervention until things get bad enough for the emergency room.

Here’s what you can do:

Fun fact: federal law has required insurance companies to cover mental health care on par with physical health care since 2008! It’s called the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. And insurance companies have been violating it with remarkable confidence ever since. Which means even if you have insurance, mental health care can be a huge pain in the ass to access.

For example, let’s say your plan covers 20 physical therapy visits, but caps mental health sessions at 10. The therapists in your network are all booked out for six months or aren’t taking new patients. Your insurance denies your psychiatrist’s prescription and demands “prior authorization” before they’ll cover the medication your doctor already prescribed. You appeal. They deny again. You give up. What a fun business model!

Here’s what you can do:

You know what’s really not great for mental health? Debt. Medical debt causes anxiety, depression, and delays in seeking future care. It also affects an estimated 100 million Americans, and is one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy in the US.

So, among other things (like tanking credit scores, triggering wage garnishments, putting liens on people’s homes), addressing the medical debt crisis would be a huge win for the corresponding mental health crisis.

Here’s what you can do:

👉 Find medical debt legislation specific to your state here.

Globally, access to psychiatric medications is dire. The same pricing and supply chain failures that keep insulin out of reach also affect antidepressants, antipsychotics, and addiction treatments worldwide. The US has an outsized influence over whether those systems hold.

Here’s what you can do:

That’s it! Hopefully doing a little something to take action helped with your mental health this week. Take care of yourselves, and of each other.

Thank you — as always — for giving a shit.

— Willow