Senate Bill No. 744 Summary

• Health carriers and benefit plans must provide coverage for diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders, including residential treatment, effective January 1, 2011, in accordance with American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines.

• Insurers are prohibited from denying eligibility, coverage, or continued coverage based on eating disorder diagnosis or treatment history, and cannot penalize providers or offer incentives to provide substandard care.

• Coverage must include psychiatric and medical treatment, nutrition counseling, physical therapy, dietician services, medical monitoring, and psychiatric monitoring with deductibles and co-payments equal to other health care services.

• The Department of Mental Health must provide diagnosis and treatment services to uninsured Missouri residents or those needing financial assistance at specialty units, private facilities, or state-operated facilities with licensed eating disorder specialists.

• A Missouri Eating Disorder Council is established to oversee education and awareness programs, identify available treatment services, and assist with eating disorder research; the Department of Mental Health must develop health care professional training programs and school-based curriculum addressing eating disorder prevention and identification.