Arizona Man died after months of unsuccessful attempts to access mental health care. Now his mother continues his insurer

An Arizona mother continues the health insurer of her late son, saying that her lists of false and obsolete providers have led to months of unsuccessful attempts to access mental health care, resulting in her death.

Ravi Coutinho, a 36 -year -old Phoenix entrepreneur bought an Ambetter Health Insurance Plan via Healthcare.gov because he seemed to offer mental health and robust drug addiction services nearby, Propuplica reported. But Coutinho found himself taken in a so-called “ghost network”, where suppliers listed as in a network were in fact not available or did not accept new patients.

Despite 21 calls documented to Ambetter representatives in early 2023, Coutinho could not secure a therapist. His death, attributed to the complications of excessive alcohol consumption, occurred in May 2023 and was deemed accidental.

On May 23, 2025, Barbara Webber brought legal action in the county of Maricopa against the parent company of Ambetter, Centene, and its subsidiary based in Arizona, Health Net of Arizona. The complaint accuses companies of violating the law of the state and federally by maintaining the directories of inaccurate suppliers and error customers on available care.

The prosecution greatly derives a propublica investigation in 2024 which exposed systemic problems in the centene networks, including multiple previous warnings of the regulators of Arizona on the same concerns. Although it was informed, the health of the Arizona net did not face any fine and the regulators did not confirm if corrections had been made.

Neither centene nor the Arizona health net responded to the trial or the prior requests for comments from Propublica. The case will probably carry out a trial with jury, with the Legal team of Webber translating it as a historical dispute of practices on the scale of the industry that exploit patients during the critical moments of need.

The trial requires unpertified damages and aims to hold the center responsible for alleged negligence and consumption fraud.

Originally published on Latin Times