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An estimated 15 – 22 million mental health and substance use disorder insurance claims are denied each year by private insurers.

Cover My Mental Health supports individuals to overcome insurer obstacles to care, notably denials for “not medically necessary,” “no in-network provider” available, and other inexplicable barriers to care.

Our no-cost resources focus on immediately-available actions and related tips that encourage patients and their families not to take “no” for an answer.

Founder Joe Feldman began advocating for access to mental health care after overcoming denials for a family member’s care, including with a successful federal lawsuit. His advocacy work has included policy-driven discussions with legislators and regulators, a board role with The Kennedy Forum Illinois, presentations to parent groups, and publication of actionable guidance such as a 2021 article in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice on medical necessity letters.

Joe Feldman

  • Founder and President, Cover My Mental Health

Mark DeBofsky

Member of DeBofsky Law with practice focused on ERISA, mental health parity, disability litigation

Vice President for Strategic Development, MADO Healthcare; previously VP for Institutional Advancement at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls

  • State of Illinois Task Force on mental health parity
  • ERISA Advisory Council
  • Editor of numerous professional publications

Lisa Gomez

Founding Member of LMG Collaborative Consulting Solutions LLC and former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security, US Department of Labor (leading the Employee Benefits Security Administration)

  • Former partner with the law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP and chair of the firm’s management committee, with almost thirty years representing Taft-Hartley and multiemployer pension and health plans, single employer plans, and supplemental health plans in various industries
  • Served as a co-chair of the board of senior editors of the Bloomberg BNA treatise Employee Benefits Law.
  • Member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance
  • Fellow of The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Inc. 
  • Senior Advisor, Inseparable

Clare Miller

Independent consultant on workplace mental health strategy and benefits

  • Director on Mental Health America’s board and earlier in her career, their director of public policy
  • Formerly Global Mental Health Benefits Manager at Meta
  • Founding director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
  • Formerly manager of the Center for Prevention and Health Services at the National Business Group on Health

Mark Mroz

Vice President for Strategic Development, MADO Healthcare; previously VP for Institutional Advancement at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls

  • Non-profit board experience: Kennedy Forum Illinois, DePaul University School of Music

Eric M. Plakun, MD, DLFAPA, FACPsych

Board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, and forensic psychiatrist with numerous professional organizational affiliations. He is currently Senior Consultant, Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center

  • Former Medical Director/CEO of the Austen Riggs Center
  • American Psychiatric Association Distinguished Life Fellow and former member of APA Board of Trustees
  • Member of the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare Managed Care Committee
  • Plaintiffs’ expert witness on adult mental disorders in Wit v United Behavioral Health/Optum

Sally Benjamin Young

  • Retired SVP, Public Affairs, Lundbeck
  • Formerly VP, Corporate Communications, Baxter International
  • Formerly VP, Searle Pharmaceuticals
  • Current non-profit board membership: Michael Reese Health Trust, CommunityHealth
  • Crain’s Chicago Business names Joe Feldman a 2026 Notable Leader in Healthcare
  • Proclamation by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recognizing Cover My Mental Health achieving 10,000 website visits and our leadership in improving access to care (October 2025)
  • 2024 Excellence in Mental Health Award from Illinois Association of Behavioral Health

     

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Neurocrine Biosciences is a sponsor of Cover My Mental Health’s Content Hub program

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Teva Pharmaceuticals is a sponsor of Cover My Mental Health’s Content Hub program

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2025 Year-end Report (download)

Founder Joe Feldman began advocating for access to mental health care after overcoming denials for a family member’s care, including with a successful federal lawsuit. His advocacy work has included policy-driven discussions with legislators and regulators, a board role with The Kennedy Forum Illinois, presentations to parent groups, and publication of actionable guidance such as a 2021 article in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice on medical necessity letters.

Joe Feldman

  • Founder and President, Cover My Mental Health

Mark DeBofsky

Member of DeBofsky Law with practice focused on ERISA, mental health parity, disability litigation

Vice President for Strategic Development, MADO Healthcare; previously VP for Institutional Advancement at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls

  • State of Illinois Task Force on mental health parity
  • ERISA Advisory Council
  • Editor of numerous professional publications

Lisa Gomez

Founding Member of LMG Collaborative Consulting Solutions LLC and former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security, US Department of Labor (leading the Employee Benefits Security Administration)

  • Former partner with the law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP and chair of the firm’s management committee, with almost thirty years representing Taft-Hartley and multiemployer pension and health plans, single employer plans, and supplemental health plans in various industries
  • Served as a co-chair of the board of senior editors of the Bloomberg BNA treatise Employee Benefits Law.
  • Member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance
  • Fellow of The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Inc. 
  • Senior Advisor, Inseparable

Clare Miller

Independent consultant on workplace mental health strategy and benefits

  • Director on Mental Health America’s board and earlier in her career, their director of public policy
  • Formerly Global Mental Health Benefits Manager at Meta
  • Founding director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
  • Formerly manager of the Center for Prevention and Health Services at the National Business Group on Health

Mark Mroz

Vice President for Strategic Development, MADO Healthcare; previously VP for Institutional Advancement at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls

  • Non-profit board experience: Kennedy Forum Illinois, DePaul University School of Music

Eric M. Plakun, MD, DLFAPA, FACPsych

Board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, and forensic psychiatrist with numerous professional organizational affiliations. He is currently Senior Consultant, Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center

  • Former Medical Director/CEO of the Austen Riggs Center
  • American Psychiatric Association Distinguished Life Fellow and former member of APA Board of Trustees
  • Member of the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare Managed Care Committee
  • Plaintiffs’ expert witness on adult mental disorders in Wit v United Behavioral Health/Optum

Sally Benjamin Young

  • Retired SVP, Public Affairs, Lundbeck
  • Formerly VP, Corporate Communications, Baxter International
  • Formerly VP, Searle Pharmaceuticals
  • Current non-profit board membership: Michael Reese Health Trust, CommunityHealth

     

All product names, brands, logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.

All product names, brands, logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.