Have an Eating Disorder? You May Not Be Able to Get (or keep) Health Insurance
June 11, 2007 by Kristen King
Filed under Women's Health
Last night I stumbled across a 2006 article called “Anorexics Denied Insurance Coverage: Insurance Companies Stop Coverage And Cost Lives” on CBSnews.com, and I was astonished to read about a situation in which an anorexia patient’s insurance company withdrew coverage during her treatment.
I decided to do a little research and see if anything came up more recently on this very topic, and here’s what I found:
- “Illness a costly burden: Insurance falls short for eating disorders” from the Chicago Tribune
- “Insurers’ Refusal To Cover Eating Disorders Prompts Lawsuits” from Psychiatric News
- “Treating anorexia: the question of insurance” from The Seattle Times
- “Anorexia Patients Denied Adequate Coverage” from Diet Blog
Any personal experiences? Any opinions? Share in the comments!
Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King
I was under the impression that anorexia was a medical condition. Scratching my head on this one…Is it because it is fundamentally a psychological condition? I hate to think that insurance companies can turn people away because they have conditions that have adverse effects on their health.
If this is the case, those of us who have compulsive eating/weight issues can be turned away too. How about other mental conditions that can lead to medical problems? Very disturbing.
Yeah, I have an opinion. More of a question, I suppose. Why is it that insurance companies (health, home, auto, life) usually deny coverage for the very thing people are purchasing coverage for in the first place? Why do they refuse to write policies for the people who obviously need them?
It’s all a money hustle. They don’t want to lose it, period, so they’ll cut corners in any way they can.
I just read a great first person essay about ED in Newsweek: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18983385/site/newsweek/?from=rss.
I can’t speak for myself, but a friend of mine tried intensive out-patient treatment for bulimia and eventually had to move back to her parent’s house because juggling the demands of work and treatment and life became too hard (her HMO kept giving her a hard time for needing ongoing treatment, and if she left her job she couldn’t afford rent AND health insurance). There’s a great documentary about ED called “Thin.” It really helped me understand some of what goes through someone’s head.
As a therapist, I’m going to present an unexpected, and no doubt, unpopular opinion.
Eating disorders are extremely difficult psychiatirc disorders to treat. Most severe cases cannot be adequately managed on an outpatient basis. My guess is that insurance companies have been hit with exorbitant charges from inpatient facilities.
Because there is such a huge medical component to treating these diseases, I’ve often wondered why there isn’t some kind of medical insurance crossover?
Maybe there is and someone will educate me.
It’s not fair and not very ethical, but treatment for mental illness is often about the bottom line.
Nancy