We are often
asked specific questions about the Affordable Care Act. We know it’s a
complicated topic, and it’s confusing about the effect it will have on eating
disorders. We want to help. Do you have a question about health reform and
eating disorders? Do you wonder what the essential health benefits are? Or why
the EDC keeps talking about the state exchanges? We want to answer your questions for you!
Send your questions to Melanie Morris at mmorris@eatingdisorderscoalition.org and she’ll answer them in a blog post.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Educating Congress One Office At a Time
The EDC is an organization that’s primary purposes is to
influence federal policy. We do that through a variety of ways, we draft and
advocate for legislation such as the FREED Act, work with the Administration
such as submitting comments of proposed rules, and we work with Congress on
relevant pending legislation. However, at the most basic level, our work
consists of meeting with Members of Congress and/or their staff and educating
them on eating disorders. We brief them on the seriousness of eating disorders,
we discuss current eating disorders policy, relevant legislation, and current
problems with eating disorders coverage.
Some Members of Congress we frequently work with are great
champions for our cause. We developed a relationship with them and they rely on
our expertise and advice. However, we need more Members to care about this
important cause. We need to develop these relationships with more Members, we
need eating disorders to be an issue that every Member of Congress cares about.
Because of this we meet with every office every year.
There are 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and 6 delegates
(these non-voting members represent District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, US
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands). The EDC
meets with every office every year. That is 541 offices every year. We meet
with Members and/or their staff and we educate them on eating disorder, we
discuss the FREED Act, Parity concerns, and ask for their support. Every year.
Every office.
Join us on September 18 for Lobby Day, and meet with a few of
these offices yourself and help get your Members of Congress to champion this
great cause with us.
Monday, July 15, 2013
What Does the Latest Health Reform Delay Mean?
You may have heard the news that there was a delay
on Health Reform. What does that mean?
Will it effect eating disorders coverage? What parts of health reform do
matter?
As you likely know, there are several components to
the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also called ‘Health Reform.’ The EDC is working to
insure the implementation of the ACA is the most beneficial to people with
eating disorders, and providers treating eating disorders, but also to monitor
the implementation so we can keep our members aware of current events and alert
them to any concerns.
Last week, the Treasury
Department announced that it would delay enforcement of the employer mandate
penalties and reporting requirements. The practical implication of this is
pretty minimal as most employers subject to
the mandate already offer insurance. The mandate covers only employers
with more than 50 full-time (or full-time-equivalent) employees. It’s important to note that 98% of employers
with more than 200 employees offer health insurance, as do 94% of employers
with 50-100 employees[1]. The majority of employers currently offer
insurance that is both affordable and adequate, (terms defined in the ACA) so
it is unlikely this will have a huge practical impact.
As mentioned in a previous blog post (click here) the
primary focus of the Eating Disorders Coalition is the implementation of the
state exchanges. In three months, we
expect the first open enrollment period for the exchanges to begin. The EDC is
working to educate our members, and to work in the states about any coverage
changes expected by the ACA.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The House of Representatives Responds to the EDC Request to Send a Letter to Secretary Sebelius Urging Parity for Eating Disorders!
The EDC thanks all of
you who responded to our action alert and reached out to your Representatives! The
House of Representatives has sent a letter to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging
parity for eating disorders. This is a companion letter to one the EDC did with
the Senate .
We want to especially thank our House
champions, Representatives Ted Deutch, Alcee Hastings and Hank Johnson. Their
offices worked tirelessly with the EDC to build support for the letter and
coordinated the House effort. We are very proud to announce the letter is
signed by 17 Representatives. In addition to our three champions, the letter is
also signed by Representatives John Conyers, Charles Rangel, Eliot Engel, James
Moran , Carolyn Maloney, Lois Capps, Allyson Schwartz, Debbie Wasserman
Schultz, Keith Ellison, Timothy Walz, Michael Michaud , Richard Nolan, Jared
Polis, and Lois Frankel.
The Mental Health
Parity and Addiction Equity Act passed in 2008 (MHPAEA). Nearly five years
later we are still waiting for HHS to promulgate the final
regulations. Very simply, the Parity regulations will explain how
the HHS will interpret the law. MHPAEA regulations are long overdue,
and because they are so overdue we’ve seen a lot of confusion around the
interpretation of parity law. See our previous post here.
This letter is so
important because it not only urges HHS to promulgate the rules on Parity, but
goes further requesting that HHS (1) clarify that denying coverage for
residential inpatient treatment for eating disorders because there is not a
‘medical analogy’ is a violation of existing parity law and (2) applying limits
to scope of treatment for eating disorders more restrictively than
medical/surgical benefits is a violation of parity. This clarity in
the final rule would prevent many people suffering with an eating disorder.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Lobby Days and More: EDC Moves The National Agenda on Eating Disorders Policy Forward
Our Spring Lobby Day was in April and we are busy prepping for our Fall Lobby Day (September 18). This time of year, we sometimes get the question "What does the EDC do between lobby days?”
EDC celebrates our 13th year of bringing together advocates from across the country to lobby day where we push for policies that make a difference to those suffering from eating disoders. Think of our lobby days as a cornerstone to our legislative strategy. They are crucial to our efforts; those of you who have participated know that. In between lobby days, we prepare the ground for future lobby days and build on the work of lobby days throughout the year.
So
what is EDC doing? We are actively
working on making the FREED Act become law. We have regular meetings with House
and Senate staff to lobby for FREED, ensure new and existing legislation includes
eating disorders provisions (see blog on Mental Health Bill), the sign on
letters asking Secretary Sebelius to clarify existing parity law, and the implementation
of the Affordable Care Act. In addition, we meet with the Administration when
necessary and continue to increase grassroots support by reaching out to you
and to other like-minded organizations. In fact EDC collaborates regularly with
national organizations – more than 100 of us come together once a month to work
together on promoting mental health policies.
EDC also continues to explore additional legislative priorities and
policies, which will advance eating disorders policy.
Thank you to all of you for your support and be sure to join us at our
Fall Lobby Day on September 18 to lend your voice to move these priorities
forward! We couldn’t do what we do year-around without you.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
More than 40 Organizations Support EDC’s Successful Policy Efforts!
EDC hit the ground running this year as we continue pushing for federal policies that make a difference in people’s lives. As many of you know, EDC worked closely with a new champion to get the FREED Act introduced, we secured a Senate Letter to Secretary Sebelius where Senators asked for clarity in the parity regulations, and we are working on a similar House letter. We held a successful Spring Lobby Day and are gearing up for another one in the fall. Plan to participate in our Fall Lobby Day September 18, 2013.
We want to give a shout out to all our Members who support EDC’s successful policy efforts including our lobby days. Thank you!
Executive Circle
Leadership Circle
Eating Disorder Recovery Consulting
Advocacy Circle
Support Circle
Hope Circle
Thursday, May 23, 2013
FREED Act Introduced!
The Eating Disorder Coalition (EDC)
applauds Representative Ted Deutch’s (D-FL)
introduction of H.R. 2101 the Federal Response to Eliminate Eating
Disorders Act of 2013 (FREED Act). The FREED Act is comprehensive legislation
that is a crucial step in responding to eating disorders.
“Eating disorders have the highest
mortality rate of any mental illness, and yet those suffering too often find
themselves marginalized and without treatment,” said Congressman Deutch. “The
ignorance in our society surrounding eating disorders is costing us lives, and
the federal government has a responsibility to take action. I have sponsored
the FREED Act to better educate our communities about eating disorders, provide
for much-needed research, and ultimately improve access to treatment before
it’s too late.”
EDC President Johanna Kandel said, “We
thank Congressman Deutch for being a champion for eating disorders and are
grateful that he has introduced this important piece of legislation. The FREED
Act will not only help us to better understand eating disorders, it will
improve the access to treatment for those currently suffering with an eating
disorder. Eating disorders are not a partisan issue and the FREED Act has the
potential to save thousands of lives. We urge Congress to pass this bill
quickly.”
The FREED Act would provide funding and
direction to NIH for research and surveillance, provides for education and
prevention activities, and improves access to treatment of eating disorders by
requiring coverage of eating disorders be consistent with coverage of
medical/surgical benefits.
The introduction of the FREED Act was a
focus of EDC’s spring lobby day. EDC members and supporters traveled to
Washington to advocate for the introduction of the FREED Act, and to increase
support for FREED and eating disorders policy on the Hill.
Original cosponsors of H.R. 2101 are: Reps. Gerald Connolly (VA-11), John Conyers (MI-13), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Hank Johnson (GA-4), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Carolyn McCarthy (NY-4), James Moran (VA-8), Patrick Murphy (FL-18), Richard Nolan (MN-8), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), Jared Polis (CO-2), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23).
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