Dr. Tracy Todd: Addressing impact of illness on families of older Americans

If you or a family member has ever been diagnosed with a serious health condition, you’ll know that the impact doesn’t stay with the individual. The stress, anxiety, worry and depression that come from these illnesses reach beyond the patient and touch families, too.

Some of the most life-threatening health conditions among Pennsylvanians — cancer, stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and kidney disease — are also the most prevalent among adults 65 and older, of which there are 2.4 million in this state accounting for nearly a fifth of the state’s population.

Studies have found that including family members or partners in the treatment of these conditions, particularly through interventions by marriage and family therapists, can not only help patients cope with the difficulties of these diagnoses but also maintain healthy relationships with loved ones.

Yet, Medicare fails to cover licensed marriage and family therapists (MFTs) or licensed mental health counselors (MHCs) for its beneficiaries. In fact, Medicare has not updated its list of recognized mental health professionals since 1989.

This needs to change. Congress must pass the Mental Health Access Improvement Act. This legislation would provide America’s seniors access to MFTs and MHCs through Medicare.

There are more than 46 million adults aged 65 and older in the U.S., and that number is projected to increase by nearly 18 million by the end of the decade. As more of the population continues to age, more and more families are going to be impacted by high-mortality medical conditions.

This reality is likely to create knock-on health effects to individuals who have had to carry the responsibility of these illnesses alongside family members who haven’t had the support or mental health interventions they deserve. There are currently 69,900 licensed MFTs nationwide who could be serving these families.

The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy’s Journal of Marital and Family Therapy produces a special decade in review issue every 10 years that examines the past decade of research to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of MFTs. The findings of the most recent issue support the need to make marriage and family therapy interventions widely available for all people, regardless of age.

Covering MFTs and MHCs under Medicare by passing the Mental Health Access Improvement Act, H.R.432 and S.828, is absolutely critical to addressing serious gaps in care for Medicare beneficiaries. In September, there was some progress in Congress — the House Ways and Means Committee voted to move H.R.432 to the full House as part of a larger mental health package. The Senate also introduced a draft bill that included S.828. While these are welcome steps forward, we need to see them continue.

It’s time to give our seniors and their families access to the mental health care they deserve — and desperately need.

Dr. Tracy Todd is CEO of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.