Rachel Harrison speaks with Cara Cheevers, Vice President of Coverage Policy at Inseparable, a national mental health advocacy organization working to win better mental health care for everyone in this country. Cara brings more than fifteen years of experience in health equity advocacy, including leading Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act enforcement at the Colorado Division of Insurance. In this conversation, Cara and Rachel dig into something that sits at the heart of the mental health access crisis: the workforce shortage is not simply a supply problem — it is a policy problem. From reimbursement rates that push providers out of insurance networks, to administrative burdens that make accepting insurance feel impossible, to a system that asks clinicians to do more with less, the barriers are structural. And that means the solutions are too. Cara walks through what the data actually shows about workforce shortages, what states like Illinois and Washington are doing right now to move the needle through reimbursement rate mandates and pre-licensure reimbursement requirements, and what both patients and providers can do today to be part of the solution. She also breaks down mental health parity law, explains how patients can file complaints with their state Division of Insurance when they cannot access in-network care, and makes the case that filing those complaints is not just self-advocacy — it is how systemic problems get documented and fixed. Resources Mentioned: Articles Referenced: State of the Behavioral Health Workforce, 2025 — HRSA: https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/data-research/Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Brief-2025.pdf State Policies Can Help Address the Mental Health Care Workforce Shortages — Pew Charitable Trusts: https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/04/16/state-policies-can-help-address-the-mental-health-care-workforce-shortages Workforce Report — Inseparable: https://www.inseparable.us/workforce/ Connect with Cara Cheevers: Website: https://www.inseparable.us LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-cheevers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iaminseparable/ Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music Credit: Music by Zach Harrison