Touchstone Foundation has announced a program expansion, increasing access to mental health care for young people and their families through its Mental Health Access Assistance program. The foundation has increased the amount of money it will provide toward the copay or deductible for therapy or counseling with a licensed mental health provider.

Eligible individuals are Lancaster County residents who are birth to age 25 or are parents or guardians of dependent children birth to age 25. To qualify for the program, the household income may not exceed 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, meaning $75,000 per year for a family of four or $36,450 for a single person. Participants must have commercial insurance such as Pennie and re-enroll annually.

Touchstone Foundation can help clients find a local mental health provider. A partnership with the Pennsylvania Health Access Network supports a health navigator for Lancaster County families and young people who have experienced challenges enrolling in health insurance. Qualified applicants with an existing provider can request that their provider contact Touchstone Foundation to sign up. The mental health care provider bills the patient's insurance and sends an invoice to Touchstone Foundation for the remaining balance.

In 2023, this program supported more than 1,500 visits to a licensed mental health provider for therapy or counseling. More than 70 local mental health agencies and practices currently participate in this program. On average, clients visit their mental health provider twice per month during the year. Clients may visit their mental health provider as often as necessary, with no limit to the number of visits per year.

Patients can apply online at https://touchstonefound.org/accessassistance/. The online portal is encrypted and confidential. The site also includes translation capabilities so that the application is available in many languages. Interested mental health providers may also enroll at the aforementioned website.

This program is made possible by donors and grants from the Steinman Foundation and the City Limits Foundation.