Mental health includes diseases ranging from simple anxiety and depression to more complex disorders like schizophrenia and mania. In todays world there is a lot of pressure on individuals both at home and their work places. According to a recent survey by a leading consulting agency mental disorders will become one of the top 5 disorders affecting the Indian population by 2030. The quantum of infectious diseases will reduce and chronic disease including cardiac, cancer and mental health will be the top ailments. Many of these conditions do not require hospitalization but they require prolonged out patient consultation and treatment. Many a times the outcome is uncertain and chances of these individuals harming themselves and others is also high.
So, does health insurance cover or pay for mental health disorders? To answer this question let us first try and address the concerns of the insurance industry, (1) There is very little data available in the country regarding the incidence, complication and the prognosis /outcome of the various treatments. (2) There are very few specialist centers which provide the complete treatment required (3) The probability of illness is higher amongst the mental health patients due to poor hygiene and the toxic nature of the medications. Looking at these arguments it becomes clear that insurance companies today shy away from covering for treatment of these patients as the claim out go would be high.
The Indian government brought the mental health bill which would have helped these customers but till date none of the insurance companies provide health cover to the mentally ill patients or in case they develop same after purchasing the policy claims are not paid. So, in a nutshell, patients with mental health have to burn their pockets for getting quality healthcare. The only solution is for the IRDAI to bring about regulations which force the insurers to re-think their strategies