HB 519 -- Health Insurance Coverage for Eating Disorders

Sponsor:  Storch

Beginning January 1, 2010, this bill requires all health
insurance carriers or health benefit plans which are issued,
delivered, continued, or renewed to provide coverage for the
diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders.  Coverage will
include psychiatric and medical treatment and other treatments
prescribed by a health care professional, but cannot be
considered coverage for a mental health illness.  Eating disorder
treatments cannot be subject to any greater deductible,
co-insurance, or co-payment than other health care services
provided by a health benefit plan.  Individually sold health
benefit plans and certain other supplemental insurance policies
are not subject to eating disorder coverage requirements.  An
insurance carrier or health benefit plan cannot:

(1)  Deny an eligible individual to enroll in or renew coverage
solely to avoid providing coverage for the diagnosis and
treatment of an eating disorder;

(2)  Deny coverage for the treatment of eating disorders when it
is medically necessary in accordance with the Practice Guidelines
for the Treatment of Patients with Eating Disorders as most
recently published by the American Psychiatric Association;

(3)  Provide monetary incentives to individuals to encourage them
to accept less than the minimum coverage;

(4)  Penalize, reduce, or limit provider reimbursements for
services rendered for eating disorder treatments;

(5)  Provide monetary or other incentives to providers for not
treating individuals with eating disorders; or

(6)  Deny an eligible individual to enroll in or renew coverage
if the individual was previously found to have an eating disorder
or received treatment for an eating disorder.

The departments of Health and Senior Services and Social Services
must collaboratively provide diagnosis and treatment services for
any state resident who does not have insurance coverage or is in
need of financial assistance to pay for the diagnosis and
treatment of an eating disorder at eating disorder specialty
units and private and state-operated facilities that have
licensed eating disorder specialists on staff.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:25 am