At first glance, it might seem a poor choice to work on a food show when you have an eating disorder. However, Ferguson says that his supervisor continually displayed hostile behavior toward people fighting anorexia, allegedly saying “Anorexics are sick in the head,” and “Anorexics should not be able to work.”
He says that after he complained about his treatment, he says, he was forced out in October 2007.
For the Ray story, click here.
In the case of Janell Smith, a teacher’s assistant, she developed anorexia at 23. The disease had reduced her to 63 pounds — she was 5-foot-3. After she was hospitalized in January 2003 at Laguna Beach’s South Coast Medical Center — she went from the psychiatric ward to the hospital. However, her insurance carrier Magellan Health Services, told her family that they would not support the care and said that she would have to be discharged without three days or the bill was on therm. She was compelled to return to her condo in San Diego where she committed suicide — dying on March 12, 2003.
Once again, these frightful abuses by insurance companies are only coming to light due to the media. Heavily lobbied legislators continue to fail to properly monitor and regulate the industry to prevent such abuses. The lawsuit is a welcomed effort to try to hold these companies responsible but such lawsuit are often hard to maintain in the face of contractual defenses.
For the Smith story, click here.