Mental Health Policy Platform

Good mental health care should be easy to get and easy to afford. At Inseparable, we envision a world where everyone gets the mental health and substance use care they need, when they need it. To achieve this, we’ve identified 25 high-impact policies to spark conversation among state policymakers and candidates and equip them with solutions that support the mental health of Americans.

Practical Policies to Advance Mental Health

Everyone should be able to get the quality care they need, without breaking the bank.

    1. Cover all medically necessary treatment, including crisis services
    2. Ensure insurers use clear, independent clinical guidelines for coverage decisions — not their own proprietary rules — to prevent unjustified denials of care
    3. Require insurers to maintain adequate mental health provider networks
    4. Ensure access to out-of-network care at no additional cost when insurer networks are inadequate
    5. Limit prior authorization and “fail first” barriers to mental health and substance use treatment
    6. Require insurance coverage of integrated mental health care models, including the Collaborative Care Model
    7. Create public dashboards of mental health coverage data

Resources

Every child should be able to get the mental health support they need to thrive.

  1. Make mental health screening and connection to supports a routine part of maternal and pediatric care
  2. Hire more school counselors, psychologists, and social workers, and expand telehealth and mental health supports in schools
  3. Allow youth to access mental health services without a formal diagnosis
  4. Help fund school mental health services by allowing schools to bill Medicaid for students they serve
  5. Protect kids from AI and social media practices that harm their mental health
  6. Develop youth-specific mobile response and in-home stabilization services so kids can get help where they are
  7. Provide intensive, coordinated mental health care for youth with the greatest needs

Resources

Everyone with a mental health emergency should have someone to talk to, someone to respond, and a safe place for help.

  1. Ensure sustainable funding streams for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and mental health emergency services
  2. Expand mobile response teams and crisis stabilization facilities statewide
  3. Develop non-emergency warmlines to provide support for people with less urgent needs
  4. Ensure that crisis-related transportation does not rely on law enforcement
  5. Require data collection, analysis, and reporting throughout the crisis response system

Resources

Every community should have the mental health and substance use disorder providers it needs to ensure the right care at the right time.

  1. Create scholarships and financial incentives for people pursuing mental health careers
  2. Require fair reimbursement rates for providers in both physical and telehealth settings
  3. Provide alternative pathways to licensure, such as apprenticeship and credentialing programs
  4. Join interstate licensure compacts to leverage the existing provider workforce
  5. Create a Mental Health Workforce Development Center that strengthens the pipeline of mental health professionals
  6. Support training and credentialing of specialized professions, like crisis response staff and youth practitioners

Resources

Are you a state policymaker?

Join our State Mental Health Caucus today!

If you or someone you know needs help, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which offers 24/7 judgment-free support for mental health, substance use, and more. Text, call or chat 988.