October 14, 2011
Should Insurers Pay for Eating Disorders?
In a major victory to mental health advocates, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August that insurers in California must pay for residential treatment for eating disorders and other serious mental illnesses under the state’s mental health parity law.
The defendant in the lawsuit, Blue Shield of California, is fighting back, arguing that residential treatments have not proven consistently effective and could lead to much higher insurance costs.
Are treatments for mental health conditions like anorexia as effective as treatments for physical conditions like a broken leg? And if not, should insurance treat mental health care the same as physical?Read the Discussion »