For Licensed Behavioral Health Clinicians

The system undervalues
behavioral health.
We're building the data to prove it.

The Clinician Advocate makes the case — with evidence, not just outrage — for fair insurance reimbursement, parity enforcement, and sustainable careers in mental health. Led by a licensed counselor who's done this work for 25 years.

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30%
Average below-parity reimbursement gap, mental health vs. medical services
158M
Americans living in mental health professional shortage areas
45%
Of psychiatrists no longer accept insurance — driven out by low rates

Now Building

The Behavioral Health
Reimbursement Index

Moral appeals haven't moved insurers or legislators. Data has — hospital price transparency laws, nursing-home star ratings, employer pressure on carriers. Behavioral health has never had its own version of that leverage: objective, national, insurer-level reimbursement data.

The Index is a clinician-sourced database that will publish, once volume supports it, insurer scorecards ranking reimbursement by CPT code and state, and a county-level shortage map connecting low pay to poor access. The goal is a flagship annual report journalists and lawmakers actually cite — built the way KFF, the Leapfrog Group, and Pew build theirs.

Phase 1 · Live Now

Baseline & Bands

Workforce and reimbursement-experience surveys using relative pay bands, combined with public Medicare/Medicaid and BLS data — no exact-dollar disclosures yet. The first survey is open →

Phase 2 · Planned

The Database & Scorecards

Exact-figure reimbursement reporting, insurer scorecards, and the first annual report — once legal review and reporting volume support it.

Phase 3 · Planned

Institutional Access

API access and benchmarking dashboards for health systems, researchers, and employers.

Take the Phase 1 Survey →

About 4 minutes. Anonymous, relative bands only, published as aggregates.

No spam — just Index updates and a heads-up when Phase 1 findings publish.

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Illustrative Preview

Sample Insurer Scorecard — Individual Therapy, 90837

Insurer A
Insurer B
Insurer C
Insurer D

Mockup for illustration only. No actual insurer data has been published — the Index has not launched Phase 2.

The Problem

Five Ways the System Fails Clinicians

Insurance reimbursement for mental health has not kept pace with inflation, practice costs, or documented demand. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was supposed to fix this — enforcement is weak, and it hasn't.

01

Stagnant Reimbursement Rates

Many insurers have held mental health rates flat for a decade or more, despite inflation, rising overhead, and a documented clinician shortage.

02

Mental Health Parity Violations

Federal law requires reimbursement comparable to medical and surgical services. Most insurers don't comply, and enforcement actions are rare.

03

Opaque Claims & Denials

Claims are denied on technical grounds, delayed without explanation, and clawed back years later — eating into clinical time and practice viability.

04

Medicare & Medicaid Inequities

Medicare pays counselors a fraction of what psychiatrists earn for equivalent time. Medicaid rates in many states fall below the cost of care.

05

Credentialing Delays

Insurer credentialing averages 90–180 days, during which new clinicians can't bill — pushing many out of private practice before they start.

06

No Public Accountability

There is no public, insurer-level scorecard for behavioral health reimbursement — no reputational cost for paying clinicians unfairly. That's the gap the Index closes.

Community Voices

Share Your Story

Have you been underpaid, denied, delayed, or driven out of insurance panels? Your account on the record matters — to policymakers, to the press, and to the next clinician who thinks it's just them. Stories are reviewed before publishing, and only your first name is ever shown.

Three clinicians have gone on the record so far. The data makes the case to analysts — the stories make it to everyone else. This wall should hold a hundred voices. Add yours.

Stories are being collected. Be among the first — submit yours using the form.

2000 characters remaining

All submissions reviewed before publishing. Last name never shown publicly.

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Know Your Rights

Resources for Clinicians

You have more leverage than insurers want you to think. These are the issues worth understanding — and acting on.

Mental Health Parity

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires insurers to cover mental health at rates comparable to medical services. A large gap versus comparable medical CPT codes may be a reportable parity violation.

Appealing Claim Denials

Every denial has an appeal process, and clinicians win appeals more often than they file them. Document clinical necessity, cite the insurer's own coverage criteria, and put it in writing.

Negotiating Rates

You can negotiate with insurers, especially regional and Blue Cross plans. Bring data — your specialty, your waitlist, your outcomes. Collective negotiation through group practices amplifies that leverage.

Going Out-of-Network

Out-of-network practice is a financial survival strategy, not client abandonment. OON rates often exceed in-network rates by 40–80% for the same service.

Credentialing Timelines

Keep your CAQH profile current, document every submission date, and follow up in writing. Several states have pending legislation capping credentialing timelines.

Compact Portability

The Counseling Compact lets licensed counselors practice across member states without additional licenses. CompactReady.com walks you through exactly where you stand.

Allen T. Riggs, PhD, LCMHC

Led By a Clinician

Allen T. Riggs, PhD, NCC, LCMHC

Allen is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor with a PhD in Psychology from Grand Canyon University and more than 25 years in behavioral health and higher education. He built CompactReady.com — a live SaaS platform used by counselors nationwide to navigate the Counseling Compact — without a development team or outside funding.

"Moral appeals haven't moved insurers. Data has. The Clinician Advocate exists to build the data behavioral health has never had."
— Allen T. Riggs, PhD, NCC, LCMHC
  • PhD in Psychology — Grand Canyon University
  • MA in Counseling Psychology — Northern Arizona University
  • Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) & National Certified Counselor (NCC)
  • 25+ Years in Behavioral Health & Higher Education
  • Founder, CompactReady.com & TheraProse

Also From Allen

Direct Services for Clinicians

The Clinician Advocate is mission-driven and free. Allen also works directly with clinicians and practices on a few paid services — separate from the advocacy work above.

Financial Guidance for Clinicians

Planning built for irregular practice income, credentialing gaps, and student debt — via Common Sense Financial.

Learn more →

Practice Dashboards & AI Tools

Dashboards and AI tooling built for solo and group practices — by someone who's built his own.

Learn more →

CompactReady

Navigate the Counseling Compact and Social Work Compact — the live SaaS platform Allen built and maintains.

compactready.com →

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