State auditor study
looks at marriages,
health care

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Healthy marriages might mess up health care, so couples seeking help are better off on their own, according to the state auditor.

Auditor Marion Higa's study is in response to a pending Senate bill seeking to include marriage and family therapists among mental health and alcohol- and drug-abuse treatment benefits in the state's mandated health-insurance system.

Lumping in marriage and family counseling could have a negative impact on the overall quality of health care, the state study finds.

There are currently 59 designated marriage and family therapists in Hawaii, according to the report.

Most people who want to be treated by these therapists must either pay the bill in full or do without.

The study suggests marriage and family therapists may not be qualified to provide mental-health and substance-abuse illness services as required by state law.

In Department of Health comments included in the study, Director Bruce Anderson wrote that licensed marriage and family therapists would have to be certified as substance-abuse counselors.

The study also showed the same services can be provided by other types of therapists or counselors. People seeking such services can also get help elsewhere, noted Higa, such as from psychologists and clinical social workers.

There also would be questions whether various insurers and health maintenance organizations would be required to have marriage and family counselors provide the service, Higa said.

"Marriage and family therapy is rather broad, and the scope of practice vis-a-vis other providers is unclear," she said. "It's not that clear whether or not a patient can go to one and not the other."

The Senate Health and Human Services committee, which presented the bill, has not yet seen the study.

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http://www.hawaii.gov/