Insurance companies bank on the fact that most people will give up after being denied treatment. Those who do appeal the denials once, twice, even three times also eventually give up, simply because the fight is time-consuming and deeply discouraging. As a result, insurance companies only end up paying for the small subset of people who fight back and don’t stop until they get a result. By the third time I was cut prematurely from treatment, though, I learned something invaluable: You can fight against your insurance company and win. You have the right to appeal your insurance company’s decision if you are denied treatment. Many insurance companies deny patients because they no longer meet the medical necessity criteria for a particular treatment.
Key Points:
- 1Like many eating disorder patients, I’ve had my fair share of insurance woes. By the third time I was cut prematurely from treatment, though, I learned something invaluable: You can fight against your insurance company–and win.
- 2Insurance companies bank on the fact that most people will give up after being denied treatment.
- 3Treatment centers nationwide are filled with tales of patients having their inpatient stays cut short because their insurance deemed them “medically stable,” of families who refinanced their entire lives to treat their loved ones, of women and men who bounce in and out of hospitals because they can never stay long enough to make real progress.
Be clear on what you need covered, exactly how you meet medical necessity, and why you are motivated to cooperate fully with your clinicians.
Read the full article at: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/5-things-everyone-with-an-eating-disorder-should-know-about-their-insurance
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