WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2019) – While often not discussed, eating disorders affect 3-4% of the senior population, and 6% of females and 3% of males with disabilities. Eating disorders for older Americans and Americans with disabilities are particularly serious given the likelihood of co-occurring chronic diseases or illnesses that already compromise a person’s health. Studies show this population is more likely to have an eating disorder compared to the general population. 

Read the full statement here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 17, 2019) – The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) celebrates the U.S. House of Representatives passage of the Marketing and Outreach Restoration to Empower Health Education Act of 2019 [Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act] (H.R. 987), which provides critical reforms and funding to support the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This legislation immediately follows the passage of the Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019 (H.R. 986), which the EDC successful advocated for during our EDC Capitol Hill Advocacy Day.

Read the full statement here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2019) – Military members and their families have higher prevalence rates of eating disorders than the civilian population, with an estimated up to 7-8% of servicemembers affected by this serious mental illness. Particularly, research shows that 34% of female active-duty servicemembers and 20% of female adolescent dependents are at risk of an eating disorder, and 16% of female veterans are affected by an eating disorder. The high mortality rate and strong correlation between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military sexual trauma, and eating disorders among servicemembers and their families demonstrates an alarming need in Congress to ensure early intervention and access to treatment for this life-threatening disorder.

Read the full statement here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2019) –The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and 142  advocates representing 27 states and the District of Columbia participated in the EDC’s annual Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, championing stabilization of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as critical new legislation ensuring individuals and families covered by Medicare have access to the medical nutrition therapy needed to initiate and sustain recovery from eating disorder illnesses.

Read the full statement here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 10, 2019) – The Eating Disorders Coalition joined scholars, advocates and advisors for a convening on March 29 hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Women’s Health (HHS/OWH) entitled, “How to Talk About Healthy Weight and Healthy Eating: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue on Messaging to Promote Healthy Behaviors and Positive Body Image”. This meeting served as the latest iteration in implementation of the EDC’s flagship legislation—Anna Westin Act, which passed in 21st Century Cures (P.L. 114-255).

Read the full statement here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 26, 2019) – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) disclosed a surprising reversal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that the court should uphold the December judgment by Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court in Fort Worth, Texas that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should be eliminated in its entirety. Previously, the DOJ only supported ending coverage for pre-existing conditions within the ACA.

Read the full statement here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 14, 2019) – The U.S. House of Representatives majority Energy and Commerce Committee has declared an investigation into health insurance companies that sell short-term, limited duration insurance (STLDI) plans. The Eating Disorders Coalition supports the majority Committee’s decision to examine these policies further as STLDI plans have a history of discriminating against individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Read the full statement here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 8, 2019) – The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) joins our mental health colleagues in aligning with Judge Spero’s recent decision in Wit v. United Healthcare Insurance Company as a step forward in ensuring patients and their families receive the mental health and substance use disorder services they need and deserve. Judge Spero found United Behavioral Health (UBH), UnitedHealth Group’s unit managing services for mental illness and substance use disorder in private health plans created policies to discriminate against patients with mental health and substance use disorders. The 11 plaintiffs in the case of Wit v. United Healthcare Insurance Company represent over 50,000 patients who were denied care under UBH discriminatory policies. The main plaintiff in the case, Natasha Wit sought coverage for treatment of multiple chronic conditions, including a severe eating disorder and was repeatedly denied treatment by UBH. 

Read the full statement here.

The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) is proud to share its focus on two new federal policy initiatives in 2019—one centered on expanding Medicare coverage for persons with eating disorders, and the other concentrated on protecting provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affecting patients with the serious mental illness of eating disorders and their families.

To read the full letter, click here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 15, 2019) — At the beginning of 2019, the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action (EDC) Board of Directors welcomed new executive leadership for the organization. Chase Bannister, MDIV, MSW, LCSW, CEDS has been elected to serve as Board President for a two-year term alongside Board Vice President Molly McShane, MD, MPH, CEDS.

Read the full press release here  

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 25, 2018) — The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) is dismayed by recent New York Times media reports of an attempt by the Administration to roll back civil rights. The Administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services, seeks to drop meaningful Title IX protections, thereby effectively endorsing sex discrimination in education programs receiving government financial assistance. With over 2 million individuals identifying as transgender or gender-diverse in our nation, such a change would be fundamentally detrimental to these persons, with a radically toxic effect upon their health and well-being. Worrisomely, the proposed action opens the door for the erasure of further protections of LBGT persons, particularly with respect to vital and affordable health and mental health care services.

Read the full statement here.

The Eating Disorders Coalition wants Americans to know where their Representatives and Senators stand in support of eating disorders policy priorities.

The EDC compiled a Congressional scorecard to inform Americans about Members of Congress' record of support for eating disorders policy. The following scorecard reflects how each Member of Congress has supported eating disorders policy during the 114^th and 115^th Congresses. Each Member is assigned a letter grade based on the number of policy items they have led or supported.

This scorecard is not an endorsement of any candidate by the Eating Disorders Coalition or its members.

View the Scorecard

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 28, 2018) — This Wednesday, Congress passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.R. 6157) report for LHHS includes language to integrate the “Education and Training on Eating Disorders” for health care professionals authorized by the Anna Westin Act through 21st Century Cures (P.L. 114-255) into the U.S. Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Resource’s Primary Care Training & Enhancement Program. The President is expected to sign H.R. 6157 into law by this Sunday. This marks the second fiscal year in a row that Congress included the integration of eating disorders training within this funding.

Read the full report here.

On Sept. 26, 2018, the federal appropriations bill authorizing funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was passed by the House of Representatives and is on its way to the President’s desk for a signature this week. Accompanying the legislation is a Congressional conference report that includes a much needed recommendation for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assist states in collecting data about eating disorders in national health surveillance systems.

Read the full press release here.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded the first grant for a new federal program that would provide $3.75M over five years for a Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. SAMHSA awarded the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as its Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders, led by Dr. Christine M. Peat, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Instructor in the Department of Neurosurgery at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

Read more about it here.

Laura Donahue joined the EDC board in August 2018. Read more about our newest board member here.

Washington - Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act. The Senate unanimously passed the same bill in October 2017. Read the full statement: here.

The Eating Disorders Coalition compiled an infographic summary of the new Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders Grant Application, resulting from the work of the Anna Westin Act passage and eating disorder community’s advocacy.  View the Press Release here if you missed it yesterday

Recently a bipartisan group of fifty-one Senators and Members of Congress, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN], Shelley Moore Capito [R-WV], Tammy Baldwin [D-WI] and Rep. Ted Deutch [D-FL] and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL], sent a House and Senate letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Azar, urging the full-scale implementation of Section 13006 “Education and Training on Eating Disorders” for health care professionals authorized by the Anna Westin Act through 21st Century Cures (P.L. 114-255).

This past Friday, the Eating Disorders Coalition submitted mental health parity
comments for an open comment period to the Department of Labor, Department of Health & Human Services, and Treasury (“The Departments”), urging strategic changes in mental health parity guidance to better assist those affected by eating disorders to receive treatment coverage. 

The Eating Disorders Coalition Applauds Congressmen Seth Moulton (D-MA) & Walter Jones (R-NC) for Leading a Bipartisan Letter to Investigate Eating Disorders Prevention and Treatment for Servicemembers and Their Families

Today, House of Representatives Armed Service Committee Members Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA-6) and Walter Jones (R-NC-3) sent a bipartisan letter with 30 other Members of Congress to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to request a comprehensive study of the state of prevention and treatment of eating disorders for military members and their families by December 14, 2018. 

CALLING ALL MILITARY MEMBERS & FAMILIES! In order to better understand access to care issues and develop a grassroots network of advocates across the U.S., the EDC & Residential Eating Disorders Consortium (REDC) have teamed up on a survey to collect information from military members and their families who are affected by eating disorders.  

Today, Congress passed the Fiscal Year (FY) Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (also known as the “Omnibus”) (Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625). The Explanatory Report Language includes language to integrate the “Education and Training on Eating Disorders” for health care professionals authorized by the Anna Westin Act through 21st Century Cures (P.L. 114-255) into the U.S. Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Resource’s Primary Care Training & Enhancement Program.