1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Nutrition Counseling Aiding Recovery for Eating Disorders Act of 2019 or the Nutrition CARE Act of 2019 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Eating disorders, including the specific disorders of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, and other specified feeding or eating disorders, are severe biologically based mental illnesses caused by a complex interaction of genetic, biological, social, behavioral, and psychological factors. (2) Over 30,000,000 individuals in the United States of all ages, races, sizes, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statues, are affected by eating disorders during their lifetimes, with disordered eating in elderly persons showing similar prevalence rates as younger persons. (3) Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of all mental illnesses and significant mortality and morbidity rates associated with elderly populations, as eating disorders can become fatal due to heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, hypoglycemia, and gastric rupture. Additionally, longitudinal studies have found that the suicide risk for those with an eating disorder is 23 times the expected risk. (4) Eating disorders can be successfully treated with appropriate interventions, yet only one-third of persons with eating disorders receive any care. Best practice treatment of eating disorders includes patients, their families, and a comprehensive team of professionals such as social workers, mental health counselors, primary care practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, dietitians, and other specialty providers (5) Studies find that individuals with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities are four times more likely to have anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa compared to the general population. 3. Providing coverage of medical nutrition therapy services for individuals with eating disorders under the Medicare program Section 1861 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C.