Fighting the good fight

Dear Readers,

We have written about this before… and we are writing about it again—because we believe this is an important issue that the insurance companies are trying to ignore.

Eating disorders ought to be covered by the insurance companies!

There is something wrong when a person pays insurance premiums-- month after month, year after year--for decades, and yet is denied covered for treatment pertaining to eating disorders. According to The New York Times article, Eating Disorders: Families Fight Back, "many eating-disorder advocacy groups report that they regularly receive calls from patients and families who have exhausted their insurance coverage and have racked up thousands of dollars worth of bills. 'They're spending down their savings, mortgaging their homes, cashing in their retirement accounts.'"

Is this insane? What is the point of health insurance if you can't depend on it when you (or your child) need it the most?

Not that it should matter whether an illness is biological or mental--- insurances should cover treatment for both—but medical experts have stated publicly that "eating disorders, though a mental illness, have a biological component," which should automatically make treatment for eating disorders covered under the insurance. However, since the numbers for those with eating disorders are so enormous (approx. 11M Americans suffer from anorexia or bulimia and millions more from binge-eating) and the cost associated with the treatment is so high ($1,000 to $1,500/day), insurance companies are trying to claim that there is no solid evidence to prove eating disorders are biological. The insurance companies would rather look the other way when it comes to the evidence presented to them—otherwise, the truth would hurt their profits.

Now parents are fighting back… and are suing their insurance companies—with the help of advocacy groups.

We congratulate them for their courage.