EDC Succeeds in Parity Push!

The EDC has worked tirelessly, in the past two years to put pressure on the Administration to release the regulations for the Mental Health Parity Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and to clarify that eating disorders must be covered at parity (click here for more).

This morning the Department of Health and Human Services released their final regulations on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.  The EDC was part of a conversation this morning with HHS and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration where they outlined the final regulations. The EDC is excited about a number of the provisions.

While the final rule doesn’t require that residential services be covered, it does require that if a managed care organization (MCO) or health insurers offers “post-acute care services,” then they also must cover residential treatment and other intermediate services on the behavioral health side. Simply put, it means that if a health insurance plan covers chemotherapy [a post-acute oncology intervention after hospitalization], then it must cover residential treatment of substance use disorders or eating disorders. The rule ensures that parity applies to intermediate levels of care received in residential treatment or intensive outpatient settings.

Another, tremendous win for us, is that the final rule clarifies that parity applies to all plan standards, including geographic limits, family type limits, network adequacy.  As many of you have encountered, you’ve needed to travel out of state to treatment centers so this is tremendous.

The EDC is particularly encouraged by the network disclosure requirements, the final rule will require that MCO’s/Insurers disclose medical necessity definitions and the process used to construct NQTL.  This has long been a difficulty faced by people denied coverage for their eating disorders.

This is a tremendous victory for all of those who have struggled through getting insurance coverage at parity. Thank you to those who shared your stories with us, called your Members to advocate for parity, and of course, attended our lobby days. This is our victory together!

We are continuing to comb through the regulations, and will soon let you know what this all means for you. Stay tuned to our blog, or follow us on twitter, or like us on Facebook to get immediate updates.  

Help Support the EDC

One of our junior board members is supporting the EDC. Please consider supporting her, and supporting the EDC!

You can access her brochure here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B17m2UfA8Xu-TWJuUnFnQUF1czQ/edit?usp=sharing

Call to Action! EDC Opposes Michelle Obama's Appearance on Biggest Loser: Add Your Voice.

Weight stigma matters to the EDC. We are so concerned about the intersection of eating disorders and weight stigma that it was the focus of our congressional briefing last month. Viewing media that portrays negative stereotypes of overweight people, contributes to a variety of issues including: negative self-image, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and more.  As Dr. Puhl underscored in her talk at the Congressional briefing, stigmatizing efforts to help those lose weight actually have a boomerang effect and create more health problems for overweight people. 

 

First Lady Michelle Obama is planning on appearing on NBC’s The Biggest Loser again. The Biggest Loser, unfortunately, is a show that exploits overweight people and reinforces negative stereotyping of overweight people. The show also encourages risky weight loss behaviors that are dangerous and cannot be maintained for an extended time.  Thus those who appear on the show typically gain the weight back, which poses both physical and mental health risks.  The Biggest Loser perpetuates weight stigma rather than promotes health. The EDC is working with BEDA, BingeBehavior.com and others to oppose her appearance on the show.

 

We support Michelle Obama’s nutrition work, but we’ve been concerned about her anti-obesity push for years. In fact the EDC has worked with Congress and other like-minded organizations to ask Michelle Obama to reframe her approach and focus on health not weight so that her efforts do not cause more harm.

 

We’d be happy to work with Michelle Obama’s office to come up with constructive ideas that promote nutrition and combat eating disorders. Unfortunately appearing on the Biggest Loser does neither of these things. We encourage you to sign the petition and call the First Lady’s office urging her to not appear on the Biggest Loser

 

How to do it:

1.  Sign this Petition

 

2.  Calling her office at 202-456-1414 and tell her to not appear on The Biggest Loser. Tell her why you care about this issue.  Encourage Michelle Obama to work with the EDC, BEDA and BingeBehavior.com  and other like-minded organizations to have a serious conversation about promoting healthy eating habits in way that also combats eating disorders.

A special thanks to BEDA and BingeBehavior for spearheading this effort!

Shutdowns, Obamacare and Parity: What Does it Mean?

If you’ve been following the news you know that the federal government is currently in partial shutdown mode. You likely also know, that the tension began when House conservatives attempted to pass a spending bill with a rider that would defund Obamacare. And compromises on spending have often included provisions that would delay the implementation of Healthcare Reform. So what does this mean for the EDC and for eating disorders?

The first very serious problem is that operating under a partial shutdown (or even a short-term continuing resolution, which is expected to be the solution reached through Congressional negotiations) is  the lack of sufficient funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. Currently there are not any robust eating disorders programs at HHS. The EDC has long advocated that HHS increase funding into eating disorders research and prevention programs. Operating at a minimal budget level makes it near impossible for HHS to increase its eating disorders programs.  Additionally sequestration (the across the board funding cuts) hurt the federal government's ability to focus on eating disorders policy. The current spending levels for eating disorders coverage are too little, and too little attention is currently given to eating disorders by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The EDC urges Congress to pass a robust appropriations bill funding HHS and and to direct HHS to increase research and prevention programs related to eating disorders.

The second issue to be aware is that the Exchanges opened for enrollment (see more here) on October 1.  Coverage purchased through the Exchanges will take effect on January 1. We are continuing to monitor the state plans, to work to ensure that they cover eating disorders at parity. It is imperative that the plans offered through the Exchanges cover eating disorders treatment. Most of the delays that are currently being discussed revolve around a device tax, that wouldn’t effect eating disorders coverage. Another compromise expected to be announced on Tuesday would involve Secretary Sebelius certifying that individuals receiving Obamacare subsidies meet the required income levels, again this would not have an impact on eating disorders coverage.

Another part of the operation of the Exchanges and additional insurance coverage, is the confusion over Mental Health Parity. We are continuing the work we’ve been doing on Mental Health Parity (see more here). The regulations still aren’t out, but we’ve heard from insiders on the Hill that the regulations are expected at the end of this year. Although, it remains unclear whether the timing will change given the recent shutdown. In addition to the two letters sent from Congress to Secretary Sebelius we also continue to put pressure on HHS to clarify that eating disorders covered at Parity

Another Successful Lobby Day!

Last Wednesday was our annual Fall Lobby Day. Once again it was a tremendous success!Thank you to all who came and spoke out on the need for Congress to address eating disorders through important policies!
 

EDC lobby day actually started Tuesday evening with our Awards reception. Dr. Rebecca Puhl was awarded the 2013 Excellence in Policy Research Award, Carmen Cool was awarded the 2013 Excellence in Advocacy Award, and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) received the EDC Lifetime Achievement in Policy Award. Senator Harkin has worked with the EDC as a powerful ally in the fight to end eating disorders for nearly a decade and we are grateful that he is such a champion for our cause. In addition to a moving speech, the Senator was able to meet many of our members that evening and hear their stories first hand.  

Wednesday started with message training, which prepared all of the teams for their meetings. Training was a wonderful opportunity to not only really hone our message and prepare for the day, but to share our stories and encourage each other. We left training for the Hill united with a strong and powerful voice.

 

At midday the EDC held a Congressional briefing “Fear of fat and weight stigma: The need to address eating disorders and obesity in tandem”. Representative Alcee Hastings of Florida, hosted the briefing and encouraged us to be persistent in our message. “Don’t write one letter” he said “write a thousand.” And so we will. We are so grateful for Representative Hastings he is a true champion for those with eating disorders. He was awarded with the EDC 2013 Excellence in Policy Award. A special thanks to all of our speakers: Johanna Kandel, Dr Rebecca Puhl, Dr Timothy Walsh, Chevese Turner, and April Winslow.

 

Then off we went to the halls of Congress armed with a powerful message, that the federal government has the power to dramatically reduce eating disorders, and to ensure that people with eating disorders receive the treatment they need. Our teams met with House and Senate offices throughout the day. Because of these meetings, we were able to educate offices on eating disorders, gain new sponsors for FREED, forge new partnerships, and build relationships with Congress.  

  

But the work doesn’t end with lobby day; it is just a beginning. In fact, we are working even harder on the Hill to capitalize on the important work done last week.  EDC continues to advocate and educate on the Hill, we are following up with offices and building on this strong foundation to advance our policy goals.

 

EDC lobby days are not only about making Members of Congress pay attention and pass legislation – they are also about empowering those who have suffered as a result of an eating disorder.  We stand together and break the silence.  As one advocate said at the end of the day describing her lobbying experience “It is humbling, gratifying, and utterly life changing.”

 

If you weren’t able to join us on the Hill, there is still time to be a virtual lobbyist to help our efforts. See the details here.

 

To see more pictures of Lobby day, check out our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EatingDisordersCoalition

 

Join EDC Lobby Day as a Virtual Lobbyist!

Are you unable to join the Eating Disorders Coalition for our Fall Lobby Day on Wednesday, but still want to help? Please consider helping us by urging your Members of Congress to cosponsor the FREED Act. Your voice makes a difference! To contact your Representative:

1. Go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code in the box that says ‘Find My Representative’

2. Once you do that you’ll see your Member's information come up, click on the little envelope icon under your Member’s name to contact them. If for some reason this doesn’t work, go directly to their page and click on the ‘Contact Me’ link. That should take you to a web form for emailing the Member.

3. Please send them a message urging their support for the FREED Act. We’ve included a template below, feel free to use this, customize this, or send your own.

“My name is __(enter name)_ and I live in ___(city)__ in your District. I am contacting you to ask that you  co-sponsor the HR 2101 the Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders (FREED Act) of 2013, sponsored by Representative Ted Deutch of Florida. This bill will increase research into eating disorders, increase education and prevention of eating disorders, and ensure that people with eating disorders receive the care that they need. I care about this issue because ________.  Please support this crucial piece of legislation.  I look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you.”

Thank you for your help!

Congressional Briefing on Fear of Fat and Weight Stigma