Friday, October 28, 2011

Important Action Alert!


EDC asks you to use your voice to make sure eating disorders get included in insurance coverage

Please submit your comments today!

Deadline for this is Monday at 5 pm EST.

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A key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the requirement that all insurance plans offered through the exchanges must cover, at a minimum, a number of Essential Health Benefits. Mental health is one of these Essential Health Benefits (EHB) that must be included.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is tasked with promulgating regulations for how the EHB will be designed and implemented (---aka: HHS is RIGHT NOW deciding what these "Essential Health Benefits" will 'look like' in the lives of you, me, in each of us)

The EDC is asking HHS to incorporate three recommendations into the EHB: 1) eating disorders should be specifically listed in the EHB, 2) all levels of treatment including residential treatment, as recommended by the APA Guidelines, should be part of the EHB, and 3) the definition of medical necessity should be broad and inclusive so that insurers cannot assign medical necessity at random.

Please add your voice by sending comments to HHS as instructed below and tell them 1) you urge them to support these above 3 recommendations and 2) some of your personal experience that underscores why these recommendations are important. For example: maybe you personally benefited from successful residential and/or other treatment ---include that in your comments. If you were denied residential and/or other treatment ---include that, and the consequences of being denied, in your comments. And include anything else about your experience or expertise that underscores the need for these 3 recommendations. We know that personal stories matter to HHS.

TO SUBMIT A COMMENT, send your email to: externalaffairs@hhs.gov


Please then send an email to kmacdonald@eatingdisorderscoalition.org to inform us that you sent your comments.Thanks so much for taking a few minutes out of your day to make an important difference. Together we will improve the lives of those suffering from eating disorders!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I watch the daily struggle of my daughter as she tries to cope alone after being denied treatment for her eating disorder. No one should be turned away because of inability to pay. Please help change this system where the patients fall victim to their disorder, and then fall victim to the insurers.