November 22nd, 2023
Health plans faces scrutiny at Senate mental health hearing
The health insurance industry faced withering criticism and the threat of a joint legislative audit during a hearing last month to examine how well the state is enforcing a landmark 2020 mental health parity law. During the three-hour hearing by the State Senate Select Committee on Mental Health and Addiction Medicine, mental health advocates and […]
November 22nd, 2023
Legislative update: December 2023
Eliminating Ghost Networks is a 2024 legislative priority One of the biggest challenges Californians face in accessing behavioral healthcare is trying to find anyone on their health plan’s list of in-network providers who’s actually reachable or available to schedule a therapy session. These “Ghost Networks” are especially common in behavioral health and are a big […]
November 22nd, 2023
News you can use: December 2023
The Mercury News: Mental health parity laws aren’t working. Santa Clara County wants to take action “Despite several federal and state laws passed in the last few decades to make sure health insurance companies are covering physical and mental health the same, many are still not getting the mental health treatment they need. Now, Santa […]
November 22nd, 2023
California is one step closer to universal health care
Imagine a healthcare system that provides equal access to mental health care for everyone. A system in which private practice therapists receive fair reimbursement rates and all therapists have sustainable workloads and the time to meet the needs of their patients. That’s what a universal healthcare system could mean for the practice of behavioral health […]
November 22nd, 2023
Therapists encourage colleagues, profession to ‘Bloom + Grow’
Being a therapist has never been easy. But it got a lot harder during the pandemic when therapists found themselves navigating our often dysfunctional mental health care system, while trying to treat their patients and attend to their own mental wellbeing. That’s why Krista Gaston and Sara Thorsen co-founded the Bloom + Grow Collective in […]