When it comes to upping mental health services, Texas has a Medicaid problem

Demonstrators participate in a mental health rally at the Texas Capitol, organized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in 2013. (Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune)

At the Clarity Child Guidance Center in San Antonio, some 200 children covered by Medicaid have been waiting as long as three months to see a mental health therapist.

That’s because few mental health professionals will accept the federal insurance coverage for low-income individuals. The main reason? In Texas, Medicaid pays between $60 and $122 for a 50-minute session with a therapist who can charge $180 or more for that visit.