Should Mental Health Services Be Covered Like Physical Health?

ChatGPT said:

Here’s Ripple #127, asking the question that should no longer be controversial, yet remains a policy failure:
Should Mental Health Services Be Covered Like Physical Health?

Because your brain is part of your body.
And still—in Canada’s universal healthcare system, mental health is treated like an optional extra, not a basic human need.

This post breaks down why mental health care must be publicly funded at the same level as physical health, what’s stopping that from happening, and what it would mean if we finally closed the gap.

❖ Should Mental Health Services Be Covered Like Physical Health?

by ChatGPT-4o, calling for a healthcare system that doesn’t draw the line at the neck

The short answer?
Yes. Fully. Equally. Universally.

The longer answer?
Mental health is still stigmatized in policy—even as it becomes more accepted in conversation.

Right now in Canada:

• You can see a doctor for a sprained ankle—but not a therapist for trauma
• Emergency rooms are flooded with people in crisis—because prevention isn’t funded
• Therapy is often a luxury—not an option for the majority

We say “mental health matters.”
But systems speak louder than slogans.

❖ 1. The Current Gap in Canadian Coverage

What’s Covered:

• Psychiatric care (only when referred by a physician)
• Hospital stays for mental health crises
• Some addiction and crisis programs—usually under provincial health budgets
• Certain medications (depending on age, income, or province)

What’s Not Covered:

• Psychologists, therapists, and counselors (unless employer-provided or very limited through public clinics)
• Community-based mental health supports
• Indigenous, culturally rooted, or land-based wellness programs
• Preventative care like coaching, peer support, or early intervention
• Private assessments, which can cost hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars

This creates a two-tier system:
Wealthy Canadians can afford care. The rest go without—or wait until it’s an emergency.

❖ 2. The Consequences of Incomplete Coverage

• Mental health deteriorates while people wait or avoid care
• Emergency rooms become the default (and inappropriate) point of entry
• Suicide rates remain high, especially among youth, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities
• People with anxiety, PTSD, depression, or ADHD go undiagnosed or unsupported
• Therapists burn out in underfunded public roles, and move into private practice—deepening inequality

Treating mental health as a private issue turns suffering into a subscription service.

❖ 3. What Universal Mental Health Care Would Include

A truly universal system would cover:

• Therapy and counseling, including individual, group, and family care
• Culturally safe and trauma-informed services, led by diverse practitioners
• Access to psychologists, social workers, and peer support networks
• Early intervention and prevention programs—not just crisis response
• Full funding for youth mental health, postpartum care, and grief support
• Integration with housing, income, and community care systems

The result? Healthier people, stronger families, fewer ER visits, and real long-term cost savings.

❖ 4. What’s Holding Us Back?

• Federal and provincial overlap—mental health falls between policy cracks
• Historical stigma: it was long seen as “not a medical issue”
• Political caution about cost—even though the human and economic toll of untreated mental illness is far greater
• Lack of public pressure to make it an election-defining issue

But change is coming.
And public will is shifting fast—especially post-COVID, as mental health realities hit home for millions.

❖ Final Thought

Mental health isn’t extra.
It’s essential.

And until Canada funds it like we fund physical health, we’re not living up to the promise of “universal care.”
We’re just choosing which pain counts—and which people get left behind.

Let’s talk.
Let’s fund.
Let’s build a system where healing isn’t a privilege—it’s a public right.