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Many therapists—psychiatrists, psychologists, and those in behavioral health—won’t take private insurance, exchange plans, or Medicaid plans because they don’t pay providers well, which means outpatient care is still an issue. Covered treatment becomes an emergency room issue and is reactionary rather than preventive. And, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in our contemporary mental health crisis, people are more likely to encounter police than get medical help. “As a result, 2 million people with mental illness are booked into jails each year. Nearly 15 percent of men and 30 percent of women booked into jails have a serious mental health condition.
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