America’s Mental Barrier

How Insurers Interfere With Mental Health Care

American insurance companies — quietly, and with little government pushback — have assumed an outsize role in mental health care. People in pain are paying the price.

Impact of Our Reporting

He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame.

June 2, 2025, 5:00 am EDT

Insurers Failed to Comply With Mental Health Coverage Law, Department of Labor Report Finds

by Duaa Eldeib, Maya Miller, Annie Waldman and Max Blau

January 24, 2025, 6:00 am EST

15 stories published since 2024

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.

by Duaa Eldeib

October 7, 2025, 5:00 am EDT
“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope

by Duaa Eldeib, photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica

September 10, 2025, 6:30 am EDT
Trump’s Rollback of Rules for Mental Health Coverage Could Lead More Americans to Go Without Care

by Maya Miller and Jeremy Kohler

August 18, 2025, 5:00 am EDT
Her Mental Health Treatment Was Helping. That’s Why Insurance Cut Off Her Coverage.

by Maya Miller and Duaa Eldeib

December 31, 2024, 5:00 am EST
Insurers Continue to Rely on Doctors Whose Judgments Have Been Criticized by Courts

by Duaa Eldeib and Maya Miller, with research by Kirsten Berg

December 30, 2024, 6:00 am EST
UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism

by Annie Waldman

December 13, 2024, 6:00 am EST
How UnitedHealth’s Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage Puts Countless Americans’ Treatment at Risk

by Annie Waldman

November 19, 2024, 5:00 am EST
State Regulators Know Health Insurance Directories Are Full of Wrong Information. They’re Doing Little to Fix It.

by Max Blau

November 14, 2024, 12:01 pm EST
New Biden Administration Rules Aim to Hold Insurers Accountable for Mental Health Care Coverage

by Maya Miller and Annie Waldman

September 9, 2024, 1:45 pm EDT
“I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network

by Max Blau, illustrations by Vanessa Saba, special to ProPublica

September 8, 2024, 6:05 am EDT
Struggling to Find an In-Network Mental Health Provider? Here’s What You Can Do.

by Max Blau

September 8, 2024, 6:00 am EDT
What Mental Health Care Protections Exist in Your State?

by Annie Waldman and Maya Miller

August 27, 2024, 7:00 am EDT
Why It’s So Hard to Find a Therapist Who Takes Insurance

by Annie Waldman, Maya Miller, Duaa Eldeib and Max Blau, photography by Tony Luong, design by Zisiga Mukulu

August 25, 2024, 7:00 am EDT