Post-“Denied”: Keep the Pressure on Insurance Companies
Insurance Coverage: Benefit or Barrier? Dear Friends, I’m writing on behalf of the women, men, and children I met this year while in treatment for an eating disorder, and I’m asking for your help. Many of those I met have been suffering from their illnesses for years—but not necessarily because of the illness’s severity. Rather, their eating disorders have been dragged out because their insurance providers consistently cut off treatment prematurely, even against clinician advice. Time and again, these patients leave treatment or (if they’re lucky) are moved to lower...
Read MoreAnthem, Mental Health’s Public Enemy No. 1, Called Out in “Denied”
On Sunday, 60 Minutes ran a segment called “Denied” that investigated the routine practice of insurance companies to deny mentally ill patients the treatment their doctors prescribe. Since the segment premiered, multiple people have alerted me to the video or sent me links directly, as it is no secret by now that I am one of the thousands who have been and continue to be negatively impacted by insurance providers. The clip was hard to watch. It opened with the story of Katherine West, who died at age 15 of bulimia (which caused heart failure) after being cut from her residential...
Read MorePatient Advocacy: Winning the Battle Against Blue Cross Blue Shield
As much as I don’t want to spend another minute on this topic, I think it’s necessary to talk about this last week and what has happened with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let’s put the happy ending of the story first: I won my battle with Blue Cross Blue Shield and was able to return to treatment as of last night. I have learned two things from the experience of successfully going up against my insurance company on my own: It is possible to reverse an insurance company’s decision. They bank on most people giving up after the first few “no’s,” so you just have to make sure to push them far enough....
Read MoreBlue Cross Blue Shield Violates Mental Health Parity… Again
This week and yesterday in particular, I experienced a sudden upsurge in eating disorder thoughts. Their abrupt appearance frightened me — why, if I am doing well, is this terrible illness still a part of me? I made a plan to talk to my therapist later that night at treatment. Unfortunately, that never happened. Halfway through the day, my therapist called me to inform me that my insurance company, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, had denied any further treatment in the intensive outpatient program (IOP). The decision was going to a “doc to doc” session, in which the consulting...
Read MorePart 2 — Insurance: The Greatest Barrier to Recovery
If I eat and gain weight, will I be considered “too healthy”? If I don’t eat and lose weight, will I be considered “noncompliant”? One reason why eating disorders are so difficult to treat is because, in addition to addressing symptoms, you must first convince the patient that he or she is actually sick. She might deny that she has any problem whatsoever with her eating habits and other behaviors. Or, even if she admits to struggling, she might insist that she is nowhere near as sick (i.e., as thin) as other patients. So, imagine the ED patient’s confusion and distress when, after...
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