It's a potentially fatal illness that often goes unnoticed for far too long.  According to some estimates, eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, affect one in ten people. 

Now some state lawmakers want to make treatment -- affordable and accessible to all patients.  The bills are aimed at requiring insurance companies in Texas to cover treatment for eating disorders.

"She was just a happy-go-lucky kid with a million friends, did very well in school, very smart," said Cindy Soltis.  She's talking about her daughter, Kristin Jones.  She says shortly after middle school, Jones become dangerously ill.

"I watched her spirit kind of die, I watched her get really depressed," said Soltis.

At just 12 years old, Jones had developed anorexia, restricting the amount of food she eats and even purging.

"I never felt good enough, not since I can remember anyways.  I don't know what I compare myself to, but it's not good enough for anybody else," said Jones.

Now, at 22 years old, Kristin weighs less than 70 pounds.

"I'm scared to gain weight.  I don't know what I'm scared of, but it's scary," said Jones.

Jones has been in and out of treatment for nearly a decade.

"They stick a tube up my nose, plump me up, and then ship me out," said Jones.

She was admitted to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Bryan about a month ago.

"Now, it's frightening.  She is literally skeleton," said Soltis.

Doctors who specialize in eating disorders say that because illnesses such as bulimia and anorexia have both a medical and a psychiatric component, finding appropriate treatment can be a problem.

"She could be a revolving door through the emergency room and through the hospital, never getting appropriate treatment, but just getting in, getting treatment just to get her out of the hospital," said Dr. Ed Tyson, who specializes in eating disorders in Austin.

Tyson says, in Texas, eating disorders are not considered "serious mental illnesses," even though anorexia has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder.

"You have these patients referred to psychiatric facilities that can't manage the medical, you have medical that can't manage the psychiatric, and so we have eating disorder centers, but very few of them are covered by the insurance companies," said Dr. Tyson.

Some lawmakers are working to change that. 

Two lawmakers have filed two separate bills that would require insurance companies in Texas to cover eating disorders.  A spokesperson for State Representative, Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) who authored one of the bills (H.B. 1436), says a similar bill was filed during the 2005 session, but it died in committee.  Representative Coleman filed H.B. 1128. 

"She's dying.  It's that simple," said Soltis.

Although still critically ill, Kristin may soon be discharged, but she's not hopeful she'll recover.

"If I can't, then I wish I would just die now because it's just too much," said Jones.