David France

In the following viewpoint, David France describes the plight of an anorexic whose insurance company refuses to pay for long-term hospitalization. Insurance companies that deny hospital care to patients with severe eating disorders, argues the organization, are in essence consigning these patients to death. Anorexics need hospitalization in order to restore their weight and to halt their obsession with food. France is national affairs editor of Glamour magazine.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to France, how do insurance companies justify their refusal to fund hospitalization for anorexics"

2. What evidence does the author provide that managed care denies essential treatment to anorexics"

3. How can anorexics’ obsession with food be broken, as explained by the author"

Tammy Renter is freezing cold. As she picks her way slowly up the sidewalk to her doctor’s office...