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Eating Disorder Insurance Coverage

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Eating Disorder Insurance Coverage
Courtney Morris
English 101C 30 April 2012
Eating Disorder Treatment Coverage
Every day, various men, women and children suffering from eating disorders reach out for help from professionals; however, only one in every ten will ever receive the treatment they need (“Eating” 3). Anna Westin was twenty-one years old when her long battle with anorexia took her life. At the age of sixteen, Westin was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, and her family felt relieved due to their good insurance policy and early detection; she was put into outpatient treatment, and made quick recovery. It was not until years later Anna relapsed, and the Westin family was informed their “most-ample” insurance plan did not cover mental diseases such as anorexia nervosa, as insurers described the doctor’s requirement for treatment in her critical condition to be “not medically necessary”. After months of dealing with low blood pressure, kidney failure, dizziness and major health disabilities, Anna could no longer hold on, and passed away (Westin). People like Anna Westin exist everywhere, and her story is extremely prevalent around the world. Anna is just one of the nine out of ten people who could not afford treatment or were altogether denied help by insurance companies. Treatment for eating disorders should be covered by all insurance companies due to the increasing research involving genetic factors, neurochemical imbalances, and proliferation of deaths in recent years due to economic situations.
Genetic factor involvement in the development of eating disorders has been studied for decades, with great advancements. Most insurance companies refuse to fund treatment because they feel eating disorders are only a mindset, rather than a disease inherited. However, doctors have noticed families with even just one person with an eating disorder make their children twelve times more susceptible to the same or similar eating disorders; twins are also shown to typically inherit eating disorders


Bibliography: "Eating Disorder Statistics." Eating Disorder Information and Statistics. Mirasol. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mirasol.net/eating-disorders/information/eating-disorder-statistics.php>. "Genetic Clues to Eating Disorders." BBC News. BBC, 21 Jan. 1999. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/259226.stm>. Johnson, Craig, and Cynthia Bulik. "Genetics Play a Significant Role in Eating Disorders." Eating Disorders. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Brave New World: The Role of Genetics in the Prevention and Treatment of Eating Disorders." www.wpic.pitt.edu/research/pfanbn/genetics.html. 2002. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. Litman, Leah. "Effective Treatment for Eating Disorders Depends on Increasing Insurance Coverage." Eating Disorders. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Starving for Treatment." Harvard Perspective. 2002. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. Liu, Aimee. Gaining: The Truth about Life after Eating Disorders. New York: Wellness Central/Hachette Book Group USA, 2008. Print. Shell, Ellen Ruppel. "Neurochemical Imbalances Cause Anorexia." Eating Disorders. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Ancestry of Anorexia: Blame Biology, Not Parenting, New Theory Suggests." Boston Globe 30 Dec. 2003. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. Sohn, Emily. "Anorexia May Have a Biological Basis." Anorexia. Ed. Karen F. Balkin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from "The Hunger Artists." U.S. News & World Report (10 June 2002): 45.Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. "Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration." Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, 5 May 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.samhsa.gov/healthreform/parity/>. Westin, Kathryne L. "Insurance Companies Should Not Deny Treatment to Anorexics." Anorexia. Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Ways and Means." 2007. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.
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