Aetna Expands Access to Virtual Eating Disorder Treatment

Aetna has joined forces with Equip to offer its members a virtual eating disorder treatment program.

The program provides family-based treatment, which is an evidence-based model in which parents and guardians work with a care team to curb dangerous eating disorder behaviors. Equip offers patients and their families a five-person care team — a peer mentor, a family mentor, a physician, a therapist, and a dietitian — who guide them through the treatment process.

Aetna commercial members in California, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington will gain in-network access to Equip's program through the new partnership. The companies will consider expanding to additional states in 2023.  

"In 2020, the number of people hospitalized for eating disorders doubled, presenting a need for effective, evidence-based treatment options for our members that were both high-impact and innovative due to their virtual nature," said Jessica Conley, vice president of the Aetna Mental Wellbeing Network, in an email. 

The virtual access component is a key factor of the collaboration, as demand for virtual care skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Conley added. 

"Through this agreement, we are making care more easily accessible to help treat children, adolescents, and young adults for a range of eating disorders — wherever and whenever it’s needed," she said. 

Family-based treatment has emerged as an effective intervention for adolescents with eating disorders, research shows. It involves three phases: parents first renourish their child by planning and preparing all meals with monitoring by the provider and dietician consultations, the child begins to regain independence under observation and supervision slowly, and the child starts to eat independently.

Equip's program is focused on treating children, adolescents, and young adults, aged 6 to 24 years. The company recently raised $58 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $75 million.

Research shows a spike in hospital admissions that included an eating disorder diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. One report shows an increase of 25 percent in the hospitalization rate for patients aged 12 to 18 years with eating disorders compared with predictions based on pre-pandemic trends.

Further, among female adolescents, eating disorder diagnoses increased by 15 percent compared to the predicted rate, the data shows.

"The need for access to evidence-based eating disorder treatment has never been greater," said Cara McNulty, president of behavioral health and mental wellbeing at Aetna, in the news release. "It is essential that we provide our members with personalized treatments that also account for the well-being of the whole family."

Increasingly, payers are turning to virtual treatment programs for chronic disease care. Highmark Health recently partnered with Onduo to launch a virtual care program for adults with type 2 diabetes that includes personalized care management, remote patient monitoring, and telehealth.

In addition, Evernorth, the health services business of Cigna, announced plans last month to expand member access to virtual alcohol use disorder treatment services.

Update: This article was updated at 4:15 pm CT on 3/8 to include comments from Aetna's Jessica Conley.