HB 1734 -- Health Insurance Coverage for Eating Disorders

Sponsor:  Storch

Beginning January 1, 2011, 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 illness.  Eating disorder services cannot
be subject to any greater deductible 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 an eating disorder 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.

The Department of Mental Health, in collaboration with the
departments of Health and Senior Services, Elementary and
Secondary Education, and Higher Education and in consultation
with the newly established Missouri Eating Disorder Council, must
develop and implement education and awareness programs.  The
council will be responsible for overseeing the programs,
identifying whether adequate treatment and services are available
in the state, and assisting the Department of Mental Health in
identifying eating disorder research projects.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:11 pm