Eating Disorder Treatment & Insurance Cases in Oregon
Eating disorders are physically, emotionally, and financially devastating. In order to combat your eating disorder, your doctor might advise you to seek residential or inpatient treatment, which allows you to get close attention and care from treatment specialists. Your health insurance company might say otherwise, though, and try to deny your claim just because residential treatments can be expensive.
At Kantor & Kantor, LLP in Portland, we are proud to stand up for people living with eating disorders who are being largely ignored by their own insurance companies. If your case has been denied because an insurance adjuster doesn’t want to take your condition seriously, then we want to be the legal team that stands up for you. Our eating disorder claims attorneys have decades of combined experience focused primarily on handling difficult and complex claim denials, so you know you can rely on us for your case.
Please call 818-886-2525 to allow us to explain your legal options after your eating disorder treatment claim was denied.
Why Residential Treatment Is So Important
Residential treatment is often used to help treat:
- Anorexia
- Bulimia
- Binge eating
Doctors working with patients who are suffering from an eating disorder recommend residential treatment methods because it provides an opportunity for frequent medical checkups and encouragement from support groups. People often experience worsened eating disorder symptoms when they are alone and outside of medical settings. Without supervision, they can be tempted to slide back into dangerous eating habits, even after months of care.
Inpatient care also addresses physical and psychological complications caused by eating disorders. Most people with eating disorders struggle first with mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression. As those difficulties worsen, an eating disorder is triggered, which will start causing physical ailments. In turn, physical sicknesses can only exacerbate an eating disorder, creating a cyclical problem. Residential treatment programs are so important to interrupt this cycle and bring eating disorder patients back to health.
Why Insurance Companies Deny Eating Disorder Treatment Claims
If residential treatment programs are so important for eating disorder patients, then why are insurance companies so insistent on denying those types of claims? The truth is that residential treatments can be quite expensive. Many inpatient facilities charge $1,000 a day and require a patient to stay at least 30 days.
Insurance companies do not like providing significant payout amounts. Given that residential treatment programs will typically cost at least $30,000 in total, it is not surprising that insurers look or any reason to deny eating disorder treatment claims.
Kantor & Kantor Fights for Eating Disorder Claimants
Not many law firms have experience taking on major insurance companies for claim denial cases and appeals. Even fewer have managed such cases for eating disorder treatment claimants. However, Kantor & Kantor, LLP has a history of handling and winning eating disorder treatment claim denial cases, some of which went to higher courts.
Three noteworthy cases we handled include:
- We recovered benefits for a bulimia patient who was in a legal conflict with her insurer. The insurance company would not refer her to an out-of-plan treatment center and also would not pay for it. A court ruled that our client needed residential treatment and that the insurer would provide for it.
- We took a case to trial and on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a client who was denied long term disability benefits only because her insurer changed policy definitions specifically to exclude her specific eating disorder. The appellate case ended in her favor.
- We successfully petitioned the California Department of Managed Health Care after our client was discharged from residential treatments for anorexia. The only reason she was discharged early was that her insurance provider cut off her benefits early and without a valid reason.
- Doing the right thing for our clients is our passion. Standing up to stubborn insurance companies is our calling. When you need legal help and moral support, count on our Portland eating disorder insurance claim attorneys first and foremost. You will always be greeted with genuine compassion because we see you as a friend, not a case number.
Attorney Glenn R. Kantor
Glenn Kantor is a founding partner of Kantor & Kantor LLP. As a young attorney, Glenn saw the injustice of wrongful insurance denials and created a law firm to represent individuals seeking to obtain their rightful benefits. Glenn is committed to ensure that clients receive the benefits they are entitled to under their insurance policies or group health plans. [Attorney Bio]
