Cartwheel Care Partnered With Anthem to Boost Mental Health
The collaboration expands telehealth mental health services for 12,500 Indiana students.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Mental Health
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Do you believe telehealth services improve mental health access for students in your local school district?
Cartwheel Care has partnered with Anthem to deliver telehealth mental health services to K-12 students in Indiana. The initiative is supported by a $250,000 grant from Anthem to improve student access to licensed clinicians.
Why it matters
The program addresses significant barriers to care, including long waitlists, rural access gaps, provider shortages, and transportation challenges for families. It provides a necessary bridge for the 30% of Indiana youth who report experiencing persistent sadness.
Anthem provided a $250,000 grant to support services for 12,500 students across eight Indiana school districts. This effort serves a population where 57% of caregivers report difficulty obtaining necessary mental health services for their children.
The players
Cartwheel Care
This organization provides telehealth mental health services to K-12 students through partnerships with nearly 400 school districts across 16 states.
Anthem
Anthem is a health insurance provider that facilitates healthcare access and awarded the $250,000 grant to support this expansion.
The details
Cartwheel Care utilizes telehealth platforms to connect students, families, and school staff with licensed clinicians. The service accepts major insurance plans, including Medicaid, and facilitates coordination with existing community providers.
Timeline
September 22, 2026: Cartwheel Care announced the collaboration and grant.
Health Landscape
This initiative follows the principles of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act by working to ensure that mental health services are as accessible to Indiana students as physical medical care. It marks a significant shift in addressing pediatric mental health by integrating clinical support directly into the school district ecosystem.
Families in partner districts can now access licensed mental health clinicians through telehealth, bypassing traditional transportation and scheduling barriers. The program accepts Medicaid and major insurance plans, potentially lowering the financial burden of accessing care for Indiana students.
The takeaway
Expanding telehealth access in schools is becoming a critical strategy to combat the high rates of sadness among youth in rural and underserved areas. Families should coordinate with their school administrators to determine if these telehealth clinicians are available within their specific district.
Further reading
Learn more about local initiatives at Mental Health.
More information
To see if your school is included, visit Cartwheel Care for school district enrollment information.
Live Poll
Do you believe telehealth services improve mental health access for students in your local school district?
