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Patient says Oakland County CMH denied recommended residential eating-disorder treatment
Summary
A woman testified she requested residential treatment in April 2025 and has been denied by Oakland County reviewers; she said appeals and a Medicaid fair hearing are pending and urged the committee to examine how review criteria exclude severely ill patients who "don't look sick enough."
Laura Ford told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Child Welfare System that Oakland County reviewers denied requests for specialized residential eating-disorder treatment despite repeated hospitalizations and medical recommendations.
Ford said she first requested specialized residential care in April 2025 and that Oakland County (referred to in testimony as OCHN) denied the request twice. "We then requested a Medicaid fair hearing," she said; she told the committee the hearing took place in April and that she was still waiting for a decision. Ford said multiple providers recommended residential treatment but reviewers denied care for failing to meet BMI thresholds despite medical and psychiatric instability.
"Waiting until someone is in medical crisis before approving treatment is dangerous and careless," Ford said. She described continuing cycles of emergency-room visits, partial-hospitalization programs and inpatient stays that did not address her core eating-disorder needs and said the people reviewing her case had not met her and lacked context about her living situation and daily struggles.
Committee members thanked Ford for testifying and asked whether family or advocates were present; Ford said her mother was with her. The committee did not receive agency testimony during the public comments portion. Ford's account raises questions about local review criteria for residential care and the timeliness of appeals for people with eating disorders.
The committee took no formal action on this matter during the session but members said they would include the testimony in follow-up work on oversight and appeals.
