3 Steps to Speak Out

3 STEPS TO SPEAK OUT

USE YOUR VOICE TO EXPAND

ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTHCARE

Have you been on a long wait list to see a mental health professional?

Do you pay out-of-pocket to see a counselor?

Have you waited weeks or months for an evaluation for yourself, your child, or loved one?

TAKE ACTION!

THE PROBLEM: Rhode Island health insurers pay mental health professionals 23.4% less than they do physical health providers. This disparity means many mental health professionals can not afford to join insurance networks. Mental health providers and agencies have documented that insurer reimbursement is often lower than the cost of delivering care, forcing some to close their doors. This problem contributes to a lack of available providers for those of us seeking help.

ONE SOLUTION: There are bills before our Rhode Island General Assembly – House Bill 5546 and Senate Bill 591 -- that would require health insurers to increase what they pay to mental health professionals to bring payment for mental health services in line with physical health services.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Take action by speaking up! Follow the easy steps below to email your State Representative and State Senator and then submit your email as a letter to the editor of your local news outlet.

FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS

STEP 1: FIND YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

Click Here and use the links to send them an email.

STEP 2: WRITE YOUR EMAIL

Use the subject line: Support H-5546 and S-591 to improve access to mental healthcare
Be brief – try to keep your email to a maximum 250 words
Be sure to provide your full name and contact information in your email
Share your own story, or that of a loved one. Your experience is important and carries a lot of weight. Highlight challenges you experience(d) in finding the right professional for help – for example: a long wait-list, discharged from hospital without a follow-up plan, had to go out-of-state OR pay out-of-pocket, etc.
Ask your State Representative and State Senator to do all they can to help fix the problem by supporting and calling for passage of these important bills.

STEP 3: SEND YOUR EMAIL TO A LOCAL NEWS OUTLET AS A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Pick your news outlet below and use the link to submit your email as a letter to the editor:

Providence Journal email letters@providencejournal.com
Barrington Times email Josh Bickford
Bristol Phoenix email Scott Pickering
Cranston Herald email Dan Kittredge, Editor-Cranston Herald
East Providence Post email Mike Rego
Newport Daily News email Will Richmond
Portsmouth Times email Jim McGaw
Warren Times-Gazette email Ted Hayes
Warwick Beacon email John Howell

ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS YOU CAN USE

Paying behavioral health providers less than their counterparts on the medical side of an insurance plan is a violation of mental health parity laws
Rhode Island has a shortage of in-network providers, from therapists and counselors to psychologists and psychiatrists.
The State’s shortage of in-network providers is about to get worse. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increase in depression, anxiety and substance use. Now that the pandemic is subsiding and public life is opening up again, we are bracing for a surge of people seeking mental/behavioral health services. Our current supply will not meet the demand.
People of Color and immigrants have difficulty finding a provider who looks like them and shares their culture and/or language
Consumers have to go on long waitlists to see providers with certain areas of expertise
Consumers have to make call after call after call to find in-network providers who are taking new patients
Insurers offer “ghost networks” of providers who are licensed but not necessarily in that plan’s network; are no longer taking new clients; are booking several months out for appointments; only see patients discharged from certain affiliated hospitals; or are not even practicing anymore.
Providers have not had a rate increase in a number of years
The cost of doing business has increased and providers are struggling to pay their bills; some are taking on loans, and others are at risk of going out of business