Update 12/13/16 at 3:30 P.M.: President Barack Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law today.
Eating disorder advocacy, prevention, and treatment groups are celebrating this week. The reason: For the first time, eating disorders—including anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder—are now recognized in a piece of federal legislation. The bill is called the 21st Century Cures Act, and part of it will increase eating disorder prevention efforts and make access to treatment easier. The Senate voted 94 to 5 to approve it. It passed in the House of Representatives last week, and all it needs now is President Barack Obama's signature for it to become a law. (The president's already promised he'll sign it.)
According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), 20 million women and 10 million men will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their life. And currently, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. The bill is a victory for eating disorder advocates, who have worked for the past 15 years to get the life-threatening conditions recognized in a federal bill alongside other mental health issues. In 2008, an act passed that requires most insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental health care and physical health care—which is referred to as "mental health parity." Unfortunately, the act didn't specifically mention eating disorders—but now the 21st Century Cures Act fixes that.
"The passage of this bill will lead to insurance companies having less flexibility to deny coverage for eating disorders that they’re already supposed to be providing through the federal mental health parity law," Kerry Donohue, public policy manager at NEDA, tells SELF. "It clarifies the original intent that residential treatment for eating disorders is supposed to be included in the federal mental health parity act...and ultimately this will allow people suffering from eating disorders to have better access to treatment."
Donohue says eating disorder treatments can cost up to $30,000 per month, a steep price for many patients to pay out-of-pocket. At NEDA, Donohue says they often hear about people having to re-finance their homes, rack up credit card debt, or go into bankruptcy in order to pay for eating disorder treatment. Ensuring that health plans help to cover treatments is crucial.
The bill also includes plans to better educate medical professionals and the general public about early identification of eating disorders. According to NEDA, the sooner a person with an eating disorder gets treatment, the greater the likelihood that they'll have a full physical and emotional recovery. "Through early detection and better access to treatment, this bill can potentially save lives and reduce the prevalence of these illnesses across the United States," Donohue says.
NEDA worked closely with the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and other advocacy groups to push for these eating disorder-related provisions in the bill. Once the bill becomes a law, advocacy groups will work to make sure the programs the bill promises are created and put in place. It's up to a future Congress to approve funding for the programs, according to PBS Newshour.
"We have work now to do to make sure that the provisions in the bill do benefit people with eating disorders," Claire Mysko, CEO of NEDA, tells SELF. "We want to make sure that this victory is a real one, and we need to make sure people are able to access treatment, and programs are put in place that work to educate the public and for people to be screened to identify the illness at earlier stages. I think this is a really important first step in raising the profile of eating disorders and helping people understand that these are serious issues and this is a widespread public health issue."
The 21st Century Cures Act is a massive piece of legislation, focusing on many public health concerns. According to PBS Newshour, the bill is the first major piece of mental health legislation in nearly a decade—and eating disorder prevention and treatment is just one component of it. The bill will also increase funding for mental health research, cancer research, combating the opioid epidemic, and providing grants for psychologists and psychiatrists. Critics of the bill—including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.)—aren't fans of how it will become easier for the Food and Drug Administration to approve new drugs and medical devices and how other parts of the bill benefit pharmaceutical companies. The New York Times and PBS Newshour offer more information on this and all facets of the (very complex) bill.
If you or someone you know is at risk or experiencing an eating disorder, resources are available through NEDA or contact their phone helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or their text crisis line by texting "NEDA" to 741741.
More information on the 21st Century Cures Act is available here.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the cost of eating disorder treatments. Treatments can cost up to $30,000 per month, not $30,000 per day.
Related:
- 6 Signs Your Gym Habit Could Be An Eating Disorder In Disguise
- How Nude Modeling Helped Me Recover From An Eating Disorder
- When Eating Healthy Becomes An Eating Disorder
Watch: What Everyone Gets Wrong About Eating Disorders
