HB 420 -- Health Insurance Coverage for Eating Disorders

Sponsor:  Stream

Beginning January 1, 2012, 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 must
include psychiatric and medical treatment and other treatments as
prescribed by a health care professional but cannot be considered
as requiring coverage of a mental illness.  Services rendered for
eating disorder treatments cannot be subject to any greater
deductible or co-payment than other health care services provided
by a health benefit plan.  Certain supplemental insurance
policies are not subject to the eating disorder coverage
requirements.  An insurance carrier or health benefit plan
offering group health insurance coverage cannot:

(1)  Deny an eligible individual enrollment in or renewal of
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 or other benefits 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 treatment;

(5)  Provide monetary or other incentives to a provider for not
treating an individual with an eating disorder; or

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

The Department of Mental Health, in collaboration with the
departments of Health and Senior Services and Social Services,
must 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 an eating disorder specialty unit or a private
or state-operated facility that has licensed eating disorder
specialists on staff.

Missouri House of Representatives
96th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 9, 2011 at 1:20 pm