Lawsuit: Anorexia Is a "Brain Disease"

A New Jersey couple, along with a team of medical and legal experts, have filed a lawsuit against Horizon Blue Cross maintaining that their daughter’s anorexia and other similarly situated patients’ illnesses are "biologically based" and should be covered under state law. The insurance company disagrees, saying anorexia is a product of one’s environment rather than genes—and therefore not covered by the state laws.

Currently, New Jersey law requires insurers to cover "biologically based" mental illnesses the same way they cover physical illnesses. But insurance companies generally do not consider eating disorders "biologically based" and, as a result, limit coverage to 30 inpatient days of treatment.

In an effort to help the thousands of families seeking insurance coverage, Thomas R. Insel, MD, The Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, released a statement to the National Eating Disorders Association stating that anorexia is a brain disease with a biological core, genetic components, and changes in brain activity. Source: Newsweek