'She wanted to live' but ran out of insurance and options

She didn’t have a fatal illness. She wanted to live. Begged for someone to selflessly save her life, but no one was willing, and by the end, she had exhausted all of her options.

Katie Farmer, best friend of Richmond resident Kendall Baker, died from direct causes of anorexia nervosa last November. Farmer struggled with numerous mental illnesses for about 18 years, which all started when her parent’s divorce took her away from her father.

Farmer was in and out of inpatient and residential treatment centers for a while until her eating disorder reached the point where she was too weak to work anymore. She had to switch her insurance and go on both Medicaid and Medicare, a consolation prize of having no money and qualifying as having a disability.

Friends and family say that what stood in Farmer’s way from getting better was not a lack of motivation or support from loved ones, but insurmountable financial obstacles resulting from decades of neglecting mental health care coverage as part of fundamental insurance.

That issue was widely discussed in this General Assembly session, with mixed legislative results.

Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond, introduced SB 1440, a bill that would expand legislation passed last year to make mental health education a requirement for ninth and 10th-graders.

McClellan’s bill would have made this review mandatory for all students in K-12th grade.

The bill passed the Senate but was killed 8-0 in the House Committee on Appropriations

Del. Debra Rodman, D-Henrico, introduced a related bill, HB 2593. Despite Rodman’s belief that “increasing this education about mental health, it can reduce stigma, build safer communities, create healthier school environments,” the bill also failed to advanced out of the House Committee on Appropriations.

“That bill would’ve done amazing things because one of the biggest culprits in mental illness is the stigma,” Baker said.

Baker said Farmer’s story is one that demonstrates the need for legislation that will help those who suffer from mental health illnesses, especially those who so badly want help.

It is rare for people with a similar eating disorder to seek out treatment, but Farmer fought tirelessly to get better. In moments where Farmer’s rational mind came through, she was terrified and in disbelief of what she had done to herself, Baker said.

No residential centers would enroll Farmer because she was too sick and not many treatment centers would take her insurance, which is why, in early 2018, Baker’s family got involved.

Farmer and the Baker family’s one hope, they believed, was in a Fargo, N.D. treatment facility that would take Medicaid and Medicare. However, according to Baker, Farmer was discharged against doctor’s orders because her insurance ran out and she could not afford the $1,300 daily fee.

The next option, which they believed was a better one, was at another facility but one that would not take Medicare or Medicaid.

“Listen, this girl is going to die if you don’t take her,” Baker said on the phone with the treatment center. “I’ll give you all the money I have and make payments for the rest of my life.”

Her plea was denied.

Baker said it is ironic that “we expect these people to be able to advocate for themselves at the time in their life when they’re the sickest and the weakest.”

Baker wants to see a change in legislation surrounding mental health. She proposed that there be a bill that provides better mental health coverage that isn’t dependent on a cutoff date, especially one that is set by the doctors of the insurance company. She also believes that facilities and doctors shouldn’t have a choice of what insurance they will or will not take.

“What if that was your daughter?” Baker asked.