Rolling Stone: People With Eating Disorders Need Special Care. Insurers Are Denying It
In this in-depth investigative piece, Rolling Stone examines the role and actions of insurance companies in consistently rejecting claims by eating disorder patients and denying them the critical, and often lifesaving, care they need. The piece shares the accounts of several patients along with discussion by experts, physicians, and legislators all active in the healthcare landscape.
As the article conveys, ‘insurance denials are not, by any means, limited to people with eating disorders. However, within the mental health crisis, experts say eating disorders may be the single most fatal of any diagnosis, with mortality rates up to five times higher than the general population.’
This issue represents a larger disregard by insurance companies and the federal government for observing and enforcing the Mental Health Parity Act, originally established in 1996 and expanded subsequently to include addiction — the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).
MHPAEA requires that health plans offering mental health and substance use disorder benefits provide coverage that is on par with their medical and surgical benefits. The law aims to ensure that financial and treatment limitations are not more restrictive than those applied to standard medical care.
Silver Hill’s Andrew J. Gerber, MD, PhD, president and medical director, and a strong advocate for mental health parity, contributes to the dialogue, referencing the overarching strategies by insurance companies to restrict care by creating a culture of confusion that becomes impossible for patients to navigate.