Mental Health Insurance – Exploring All About It

As implemented recently, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 directs insurance companies to offer health insurance plans to policy-holders similarly dealing with mental illness as they cater to physical illnesses. The regulatory body has prescribed specific standards for health insurance exclusions for removing the ambiguity that may result in the rejection of a policyholder's claim.

What is Mental Illness?

According to the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, mental illness refers to the persistent disorder in the thinking process, mood, orientation, memory, or perception of an individual that affects his/her behavior, decision-making, cognitive capacity to perform daily activities, memory, or judgment. The act has excluded mental retardation from the definition of mental illness because it mostly occurs due to incomplete brain development.

Mental illness Coverage Mandated By IRDAI

Until recently, mental illness was perceived as an issue with a personality trait that no one wished to openly talk about. With more people coming at the forefront to confront the consequences of mental health, it has led to an increased awareness amongst people to have started prioritizing mental health and well-being. This has enforced IRDAI to instruct all insurance companies to treat mental health as any other physical ailment and to be covered under a health insurance policy.

The standardized regulation of IRDAI includes any type of mental illness, psychological disorders, stress, and neurological illnesses.
Mental health insurance aims to facilitate medical coverage for those suffering from mental diseases and to bear the financial burden associated with the diseases. With the latest development in India in the form of IRDAI standards, it seems to be an excellent step towards development in the national health system.

Benefits of Mental Health Insurance

The following are the benefits of a mental health insurance plan:

• As per the act, any individual who suffers from mental disorders related to thinking, mood, memory, perception, and other cognitive factors that affect behavior, mental capacity, and decision-making.
• The benefits of a mental health insurance plan are the same as normal insurance that includes cashless treatment, hospitalization, and pre and post-hospitalization coverage depending on the type of policy opted for.
• Although exclusions may vary as per policy, the act excludes claims relating to mental retardation.

Also Read

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Conclusion

To conclude, if one aims to eliminate the risk of one’s financial burden due to the treatment of even mental illness, suitable health insurance should be bought that covers all illness associated expenses. With the recent introduction of mental health coverage under health insurance as per regulations of IRDAI, health insurance firms need to provide mandatory coverage for mental illness to policy-holders if they claim it successfully.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.