{"id":853049,"date":"2026-06-08T15:08:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/853049\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:08:23","slug":"am-rajkumar-passes-historic-legislation-recognizing-arfid-as-an-eating-disorder-in-new-york-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/853049\/","title":{"rendered":"AM Rajkumar passes historic legislation recognizing ARFID as an eating disorder in New York \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar<\/a> announced the passage of her landmark legislation, A9600A<\/a>, establishing ARFID, or Avoidant\/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, as an eating disorder in New York State on Thursday, June 4.<\/p>\n

Rajkumar, who represents\u00a0Ridgewood<\/a>,\u00a0Woodhaven<\/a>,\u00a0Richmond Hill<\/a>,\u00a0Ozone Park<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Glendale<\/a>, sought to address the challenges people with ARFID face by advocating for the bill to be added to the State\u2019s list of officially recognized eating disorders. As stated in a press release, certain laws will now apply to the disorder, including those related to \u201cinsurance coverage, educational campaigns, and State-directed treatment centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

First classified in 2013, ARFID is characterized by \u201cpersistent limitations in food intake based on anxiety over adverse consequences from eating; sensory sensitivity; or lack of interest,\u201d according to a press release. It is often associated with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and other conditions, and is not driven by body dysmorphia. Historically dismissed as \u201cpicky eating,\u201d ARFID is estimated to affect as much as \u201c3% of the population.\u201d The actual number may be much higher due to the lack of diagnoses.<\/p>\n

ARFID would be covered under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), which dictates that health insurance plans must offer coverage for mental health and substance use disorders that is no more restrictive than surgical and medical coverage.<\/p>\n

Rajkumar authored the bill after hearing from constituents whose families were living with the challenges of ARFID. A9600A received 60 votes in favor of the proposed legislation<\/a>, securing the bill\u2019s passage on Thursday, June 4. Among those who voted for it are State Senators Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.<\/a>, Michael Gianaris<\/a>, Jessica Ramos<\/a>, Kristen Gonzalez<\/a> and James Sanders Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s cosponsors are Assembly Members Linda B. Rosenthal<\/a>, Andrew Hevesi<\/a>, Steven Raga<\/a> and Jessica Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas<\/a>. Additional cosponsors include Assembly Members Claire Valdez<\/a>, Catalina Cruz<\/a>, Diana Moreno<\/a> and Nily Rozic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen families came to me describing how ARFID was upending their lives, I knew I had to take action. ARFID is a real, serious eating disorder recognized by modern medicine, and I am making sure our laws reflect that reality,\u201d said Rajkumar in a statement. \u201cBy passing my bill, we are affirming that New Yorkers living with ARFID are seen, understood, and supported. This is about replacing misunderstanding with awareness and ensuring that science, compassion, and common sense guide public policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of press time, the legislation is expected to head to Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s desk to be signed into law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar announced the passage of her landmark legislation, A9600A, establishing ARFID, or Avoidant\/Restrictive Food Intake…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":853050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[297304,5229,348355,7366,348356,158484,348357,297305,2934,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,6637,214837,348358,56285,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-853049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-am-rajkumar","tag-america","tag-arfid","tag-community-news","tag-district-38","tag-eating-disorder","tag-historic-legislation","tag-jenifer-rajkumar","tag-legislation","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-politics","tag-queens-news","tag-south-queens","tag-state-assembly","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116715120735656966","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}