Ravi Coutinho took a picture of himself on May 22, 2023, hoping to mark the beginning of his recovery from alcohol use disorder.

Webber Coutinho family

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Webber Coutinho family

For people with the most severe forms of mental illness, the problem of not being able to find treatment can be deadly. Ravi Coutinho tried very hard to find treatment for his depression, anxiety and alcohol use disorder.

He met frustration at every turn as he tried to find mental health care providers who took his insurance, which seemed to have an adequate network.

NPR’s Rhitu Chatterjee interviewed Coutinho’s mother, Barbara Webber, and Chatterjee discusses the tragic case with Weekend Edition’s Ayesha Rascoe.

For more on Ravi’s story, read the full investigation by ProPublica’s Max Blau.

To find out what to do if you find yourself looking for mental health care in a health insurance ghost network, read this guide.