The cost of mental health outpatient coverage/benefits is really negligible compared to just about anything else. Just office visits basically; related prescriptions, if any, are or aren’t covered according to other provisions of the policy, and many states limit the office visits to 10/year. Compare this to, say, a single kidney stone running $35,000-$50,000 in hospital.
Compared to a kidney stone, the cost of mental health may be negligible in a one-to-one comparison but I deal with mental health plans in at least 20 different states and they all have unlimited visits. It’s all a piece of the puzzle. My Congressman and I continuously argue about a lot of what he calls insignificant amounts and he is one of many in Congress that refuses to look at cutting anything unless it’s millions of dollars or more. Trickles can easily and quickly become roaring rivers.