Finding Psychiatric Care with QUEST in Hawaiʻi

If you have QUEST and keep hearing “we are not taking new QUEST patients,” or your provider or health plan recently changed, you still have options. The MindCounsel is in-network with three QUEST health plans and sees adults across Hawaiʻi by telehealth.

Why finding a psychiatric provider with QUEST has been hard

Hawaiʻi has had too few mental health providers for years, and QUEST members tend to feel that shortage first. Roughly one in three Hawaiʻi residents is covered by Med-QUEST, the state’s Medicaid program. At the same time, many private practices limit how many QUEST patients they see, or stop accepting QUEST altogether, most often citing payment rates and administrative burden.

For patients, that shows up as closed panels, long waitlists, and phone calls that are not returned. Some people have also been told their provider no longer takes their plan, sometimes in the middle of treatment. None of this reflects on you or on how real your need for care is. It is a capacity problem, and it is the reason this practice chose to contract with QUEST plans.

If your QUEST plan is changing in January

ʻOhana Health Plan is leaving the QUEST program on December 31, 2026. If you are an ʻOhana member, your Medicaid coverage continues as long as you remain eligible, but your health plan changes. New plans begin January 1, 2027. Members were asked to choose a new plan in October, and Med-QUEST assigns a plan to anyone who did not choose, so that coverage continues without a gap. The QUEST health plans going forward are AlohaCare, HMSA, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.

What matters for psychiatric care is that each plan has its own provider network. A provider you see today may not be in network with your plan in January. Checking now helps you avoid a gap in follow-up visits or refills.

• Find the letter or new member ID card that names your health plan starting January 1
• Ask your current psychiatric provider whether they are in network with that plan
• If they are not, arrange a new provider before your current prescriptions run out
• For questions about your plan, contact Med-QUEST or ʻOhana customer service at 888-846-4262. ʻOhana also posts transition information for members

If your provider stopped taking QUEST

Transferring care is a routine part of this practice. A first visit here is a full psychiatric evaluation, not a quick refill appointment. Dr. Casilang reviews your history, your current medications, what has helped, and what has not, and then talks through a plan with you.

Your prior treatment is taken seriously. Medication decisions are still made after that evaluation, based on independent clinical judgment and safety, so continuing a specific medication cannot be promised in advance. When controlled medications are part of a plan, they are managed responsibly and in line with professional and state guidelines, including review of the state prescription monitoring program.

What helps to have ready

• Your QUEST member ID card and the name of your health plan
• A list of current medications with doses, and the pharmacy you use
• The name of your previous provider or clinic, and records if you have them
• The date your current prescriptions are expected to run out

Care available to QUEST members

Adults 18 and older can be seen for psychiatric medication management, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder treatment, adult ADHD evaluation, diagnostic clarification, second opinions, and medication reassessment. Dr. Casilang is dual board-certified as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and a family nurse practitioner, so evaluations also consider medical contributors such as thyroid, sleep, and medication interactions.

Visits take place by secure video from a private space of your choosing on any island, which removes the drive, the parking, and inter-island travel for routine care. In-person visits in Honolulu are available by request. See the Oʻahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauaʻi pages for island-specific details.

What is not included

• Care for children and adolescents under 18
• Autism evaluations. See autism: scope of care
• Emergency or crisis services. Call or text 988, or call 911
• ʻOhana Health Plan and Kaiser Permanente QUEST coverage

If you receive behavioral health services through Community Care Services (CCS), your CCS health plan and case manager coordinate that care. Contact them first, or call the Hawaiʻi office and we will help you find out whether a visit here would be covered.

Keeping your QUEST coverage in 2027

Starting January 1, 2027, some adults on Med-QUEST will have new eligibility requirements and more frequent renewals. Coverage is sometimes lost over a missed letter rather than a change in eligibility. Keep your mailing address and phone number current with Med-QUEST, and open and answer anything they send. If your coverage changes during treatment, tell the office early so your care can be planned around it.

Other plan pages

Carrying a different card? Each plan page explains how booking and benefit checks work for that carrier. Hawaiʻi: HMSA, AlohaCare QUEST, UnitedHealthcare QUEST, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Hawaiʻi, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Oxford & Oscar, Carelon Behavioral Health. All Hawaiʻi options are on the Hawaiʻi patients page.