By Siddharth Singhal,
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has mandated mental illness to be considered at par with physical illnesses, making it compulsory to be included in health insurance. Taking a plan that offers coverage for out patient department (OPD) services is a prudent step to save yourselves from higher out-of-pocket expenses.
Mental illness may not necessarily require admission in hospital but frequent consultations. The cost of mental health treatments is increasing rapidly. In fact, the average cost of a single psychiatric consultation is `1,500-5,000.
Most health insurance plans offer coverage against the hospitalisation costs resulting from a likely mental illness, such as anxiety, traumatic stress, acute depression, and bipolar disorder. This includes overall treatment, diagnostic fees, room charges, ambulance fees, pharmacy expenditures, and more. Several health insurance providers also offer outpatient coverage which includes costs such as rehabilitation, meditative sessions, and consultations.
There is no specific demographic that should consider investing in mental health insurance. Mental illness can affect anyone at any age or point in time. Young adults can also suffer from adverse mental health conditions because of a variety of factors. Increasing sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical activity, high stress levels due to career or life changes also impact mental health of individuals.
Everyone should consider buying comprehensive health insurance that covers mental health. Additionally, people who have a history of antidepressant use or have a family background of mental health disorders should also deliberate over obtaining coverage. The same applies to those with documented instances of clinical depression, neurological disorders, personality disorders, sociopathy, or psychopathy. A positive development in the insurance industry is that several insurers nowadays offer plans that cover many mental disorders.
Points to keep in mind
All policyholders need to serve a waiting period in which certain illnesses won’t be covered in health insurance. Disclose any pre-existing mental conditions before buying a health insurance policy. If you skip disclosing your illness, then it may lead to rejection of claims later. Similar to other pre-existing conditions, mental illness coverage entails a waiting period of two years.
The minimum time of hospitalisation should be 24 hours to claim expenses for hospitalisation for a mental illness. Read the terms and conditions of the policy to know the exact waiting period and coverage. Another thing to keep in mind are exclusions. No health insurance plan provides coverage against psychological disorders or complications due to alcohol or drug abuse, dependence, and withdrawal. It also doesn’t provide coverage against self-inflicted injury or suicide attempts.
The writer is business head, Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com
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