People have finally found a way to profit from others’ eating disorders. Residential, for-profit eating disorder centers are taking advantage of funding from the Affordable Care Act’s increased coverage for mental health by advertising to those with eating disorders and throwing receptions for potential staff, The New York Times reported.
Some centers charge as much as $1,000 a day for treatment for patients. A 2006 study cited by the Times found that people who suffer from eating disorders stay at residential centers for an average of 83 days. The Times also pointed out that companies often get caught up in growth, and the “quality of treatment may be sacrificed for profit” as a result.
Treatment methods at these centers vary in effectiveness and practice. Their methods range from faith-based treatment all the way to scientific treatment.
“People get the idea that these are places that can heal just based on what they see on a website or in the photos,” Scott Hadland, an adolescent medicine specialist at Harvard Medical School, told the Times.
It’s a good sign that eating disorders are finally being taken as seriously as other mental health issues. Instead of addressing them, society could be letting them run amok. But conversation just isn’t enough. A widespread treatment requires action.
For-profit residential organizations are taking advantage of their patients. There is something to be said for the certified medical professionals these places employ, but a price tag can’t be put on recovery. The only people who can afford this treatment are those with money.
The people who run these programs know what they’re doing. But they also know how to make a profit.
It’s also easy for people to be pressured by doctors into taking on a treatment they can’t afford when those doctors are incentivized by large, wealthy treatment centers. Business and health don’t mix.
The Affordable Care Act helps so many Americans pay for mental health treatment, but one side effect is that for-profit organizations are propelled by its nuances. The act’s most prominent criticisms — that its benefits would be taken advantage of — are coming to light. It’s the main reason the organizations are spending so much money on advertisements and extravagant amenities for patients.
Do people really need a rock climbing wall or a chandeliered lobby to recover from an eating disorder? Sure, the central purpose of residential programs is to make the patient feel comfortable and de-stigmatized, and physical activities can help relieve stress through recreational therapy. But not every person who suffers from an eating disorder has access to the same resources.
In a residential program, patients are isolated. They’re not facing the pressures that affect them in the outside world. And with amenities like swimming pools and yoga classes, these facilities don’t simulate the “real world.”
Likewise, there’s no telling how well any of this actually works. People suffering from eating disorders can end up going back for treatment again and again and keep spending unnecessary amounts of money in the process. The Times reported that one family spent as much as $350,000 on residential eating disorder treatment over the course of three years for their one daughter.
There should be a focus on providing an affordable and effective treatment process available to the greatest number of people as possible.
People with the resources to seek help usually don’t come from poorer backgrounds. And those who need care for any health situation are often limited by their financial situations.
These organizations are taking advantage of people who suffer from eating disorders. Health is something that should not belong to just the upper class. Treatment should not be something only available to those who can afford it. One person’s health can’t be valued over another’s.
While in treatment, patients shouldn’t feel guilty for spending too much money. They need to feel good about seeking help, and the high cost of many treatment centers is just another roadblock to recovery.
I’m sorry but I really feel the information you are providing is simply incorrect. While some residential facilities are over the top the vast majority are not. I’m afraid you may want to do more research before writing an article so very one sided. Residential programs are often a patients only option if they want to live and or learn to live with an eating disorder. I appreciate you bring light to this devastating mental illness that currently more people die from then any other one, but next time I would suggest you talk to other people. Thank you.
Hi there,
I think you have a valuable opinion and some mis-information as well. There are MANY companies making LOTS of money off of eating disorders and providing bad treatment, like Walden Behavioral Care, which is essentially owned by a hedgefund/investment company called Seacoast Capital – they ‘care so much’ about treatment that patients aren’t actually treated for medical symptoms unless they are at residential or high treatment, and don’t get nutrition or psychiatry in IOP. And yes, you guessed it, no medicare.
However, just to say that for-profit centers are ALL bad is something I would disagree with as well. For example, in New Hampshire, ridiculous billing requirements make it difficult for registered dietitians to accept medicare/medicaid because of visit limits, and not being able to see them via self-pay if they have met the visit limits. But in CT? Yeah, I’m worried….. because as tough as New York Presbyterian is (the only inpatient Eating Disorders covered facility for patients with Medicaid), it looks like ECHN was just bought out by a for-profit company, and they are planning to open an inpatient unit with Walden. God save us all.
Places like Timberline Knolls, Center for Change, Eating Recovery Center, Renfrew – they’re doing it right. But they’re not trying to rapidly expand just for money. If they expand, it’s intentional, planned, and they implement GOOD treatment.