Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, a major Ohio health insurer, recently announced that it was cutting its mental-health reimbursement rates by 15 to 20 percent, causing some providers to stop accepting Anthem patients, WCPO-TV reported July 18.

"The best providers are leaving Anthem," said Nancy Stella, CEO of the BridgePointe treatment program, one of the largest behavioral-health providers in the Cincinnati area. "We are unable to continue to treat these patients at such a low rate."

Anthem officials said that members still have access to behavioral healthcare and recently told reporters that 95 percent of Ohio behavioral-health providers are in its network. But Dave Ranz of the local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill said, "They clearly don't have 95 percent of mental-health providers in the Greater Cincinnati community."

"Many of the psychologists and counselors and social workers are not taking new Anthem patients," said Ranz. "That affects access to care for persons with Anthem insurance. And that is not acceptable and it is unconscionable because it puts profits ahead of quality treatment."

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland called Anthem's actions "outrageous."

"So much of our healthcare dollar is not going to healthcare – it is not going to provide healthcare to people who need it. It is going to administrative high salaries," he said. "We do have the right and the responsibility to make sure that if the company is claiming to provide a service -- that they are not able to provide now because of a lack of professionals who are willing to participate -- that is a serious, serious problem and that will lead us to take action."