Health Insurance Providers Refuses Coverage for Eating Disorders

According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), 10 percent of people with anorexia nervosa die as a result of complications from the illness. Still, victims struggle for adequate health insurance coverage. Eating disorders are among the deadliest of all mental illnesses among people between the ages of 12 and 25. Eating disorders are life threatening illnesses and anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, yet health insurance companies routinely deny coverage for treatment.

Here are some disturbing statistics:

*Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents
50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 see themselves as overweight

*Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness

*Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia

*An estimated 10 – 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males

*A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that 5 – 10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease; 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years and only 30 – 40% ever fully recover.

*The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old.

*About 80% of the girls/women who have accessed care for their eating disorders do not get the intensity of treatment they need to stay in recovery – they are often sent home weeks earlier than the recommended stay.

*Treatment of an eating disorder in the US ranges from $500 per day to $2,000 per day. The average cost for a month of inpatient treatment is $30,000.

*It is estimated that individuals with eating disorders need anywhere from 3 – 6 months of inpatient care. Health insurance companies for several reasons do not typically cover the cost of treating eating disorders.

The trend with health care is that health insurers will not cover the care and treatment of the disorder itself but they may pay for some of the life threatening end results, such as treatment for a heart attack or a suicide attempt. This mentality is completely backwards -- instead of treating the problem health care is not available until the situation is grave. So, instead of covering the very treatment that might help the patient avoid something such as organ failure, the health insurance companies ignore the patient until there is a near death situation.

This morning on Good Morning America, a family is considering a lawsuit against their health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. Their daughter suffers from bulimia, but when she was first diagnosed with an eating disorder about three and a half years ago, she suffered from anorexia. Her pediatricians made it clear that she needed residential in-patient treatment or she could die. Blue Cross would not cover the expensive treatment, which would be more than $50,000. They pointed out that nothing more could be done due to a $2000 cap on mental health coverage.

A new bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives, called the FREED Act (Federal Response to End Eating Disorders), may help those who need health care for eating disorders. If it became law, would require insurers offering group health insurance to specifically cover eating disorders.

Written by Cheryl Phillips

Sources: National Eating Disorder Association, GMA, SC Dept. of Mental Health