Overview

• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital reviewed 196 admissions for 139 adolescents and young adults medically stabilized for anorexia and reported the findings in the Journal of Eating Disorders.
• Hospital stays were significantly longer for Medicaid-insured patients than for privately insured peers despite comparable clinical severity after controlling for demographic and clinical factors.
• Authors point to scarce post-discharge options—residential treatment, partial hospitalization, and outpatient services—as the most likely driver of discharge delays.
• Medicaid reimbursement per hospital day was nearly five times lower than private insurance, which the authors say can deter specialized programs from accepting Medicaid patients.
• The study team urges improved Medicaid coverage and reimbursement for anorexia treatment, noting high mortality from eating disorders and the reliance on nutritional restoration, sometimes with tube feeding, to maintain stability.