Is anorexia a mental illness?: Bloggers weigh in on Aetna settlement

Any more parents want to "weigh in?"

Is anorexia a mental illness?: Bloggers weigh in on Aetna settlement

Comments

  1. The importance of the Aetna settlement is being blown out of proportion, for several reasons. First, the settlement only applies in New Jersey; it won't have any legal effect in other states, many of which already have laws, such as parity laws, that are far more generous than this settlement. Second, it involves only Aetna, not other insurers. Third, it involves only a certain type of insurance obtained through employment, not all insurance written by Aetna. Fourth, while Aetna agrees to treat eating disorders like other mental illnesses, it doesn't agree in this settlement to treat "mental illnesses" the same as other diseases with respect to the terms of coverage. Fifth, Aetna agrees to pay the 100 class members only $250,000 cash, amounting to only $2,500 each. Has anyone been successfully treated for a clinical eating disorder for so little money? I understand that some of the class members may be objecting to the settlement as too generous for Aetna and contrary to the best interests of the class. If I were a member of the class in this case, I would seek independent advice of my own counsel before letting this proposed settlement go unchallenged.

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  2. I agree with everything you are saying.. but perhaps not the importance.

    This isn't the end of the battle, but perhaps the beginning of a change. Precedent means something. These parents have done something significant by standing together and doing this, and if followed by a lot of hard work and similar efforts we could turn the tide.

    I doubt any of these families did this just for their case - but for the greater good. I'm very thankful to them and I think we will be indebted to them as well.

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  3. Oh Laura- you scooped me!

    Here is the comment I left on the Law blog also featured in the NJ Ledger article:

    http://www.typepad.com/t/comments?__mode=red&user_id=1056551&id=118427742

    I think that will work.

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  4. Or not.

    Just go to the post here:

    http://lawandmore.typepad.com/law_and_more/2008/06/aetna-opens-pandoras-box---i-dont-know-anyone-who-doesnt-have-an-eating-disorder.html

    I'm the second comment.

    I really hope this works.

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  5. Laura, I agree with everything in your post. My concern is only that these parents who sued Aetna, who ARE heroes, are not necessarily well served by this particular settlement, which from news accounts seems to be skewed in Aetna's favor. That often happens in class action cases because of an inherent conflict of interest between the class and the attorneys for the class. The attorneys sometimes want a quick settlement, even if it is not the best deal possible, because settlements usually include a provision for the attorneys to get their fees paid by the defendant. In other words, there's an incentive for the attorneys to "sell out" the class. I'm not saying that necessarily happened here, but it appears the deal isn't as good for the parents as it might have been, and at least one lawyer knowledgable about the case has said in the press that he intends to challenge the proposed settlement on that basis. It would be a shame if these parents, who did a hugely courageous thing in filing the suit, didn't get the best settlement possible.

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  6. Carrie, you rock.

    Anonymous: "agreed"

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  7. this has nothing to do directly with the aetna settlement, but i thought you and/or your readers might like this piece recently published at SciAm:

    http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=addicted-to-starvation

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  8. Anon,

    You are absolutely true. The parents got (to put it bluntly) screwed with the settlement.

    But...this appears to be one of those lose the battle to win the war issues. I will celebrate if only because it means we are one step closer to recognizing anorexia and bulimia as the biologically based mental illnesses that they are. There is also much to be said for making a point. I am grateful to those parents and celebrating that some good has come out of their suffering.

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