Christopher Snowbeck

Increased demand for treatment adds to questions about whether the state's supply of caregivers can meet the need — particularly for children and teens.

Patient advocates hope new powers for health insurance regulators will usher in change, but the parity standard has its limits and is difficult to enforce.

Insurance reimbursement rates — coupled with constraints on staffing and hospital beds — limit options for psychiatric patients, including children.

Minnesota hospital payment data has shown that mental health services receive significantly lower median payments than other categories of care.