Does Health Insurance Cover Psychological Disorders?

For a long time, mental illnesses related expenses were never covered in health insurance in India. But fortunately we are witnessing a drastic shift in the same. Only physical health ailments and disorders were included in the ambit of health insurance plans.

Recently, there has been a shift regarding coverage for psychological disorders. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of Indian (IRDAI) had asked the health insurance providers to include mental illnesses under the scope of health insurance cover.

Amidst the ongoing pandemic, the one thing that has caught the eye of everyone is the mental wellbeing of people, in addition to the physical wellbeing. Mental Health has cropped up as one of the major health issues among Indians. As per a recent report, nearly 1 out of every 20 people in India suffers from mental health issues. 

And the numbers have gone up significantly in 2020. During these trying times, the importance of health insurance cover has also increased drastically.

What is Mental Health or Wellbeing?

Mental health includes psychological wellbeing, social as well as emotional well-being. It has a significant impact on the way we think, act, and feel. Mental wellbeing is important at every stage of our lives. It also affects our way of handling stress, the way we interact with people and make choices.  

And mental illness means a person’s inability to think, work, memorize, behave, and even take decisions. It leads to disorder in the cognitive capacity and even in performing daily activities. 

IRDAI makes it Mandatory to Cover Mental illnesses under Health Insurance

Till now people did not find it important to cover psychological disorders under medical insurance. With time, people are now coming in open and talking about mental health issues. There is increased awareness and mental well-being has become a priority for almost everyone.

For this reason, IRDAI has given instructions to all insurance companies to treat mental health just like any other physical ailment and include it under health insurance policies. The standardized regulation makes it possible to cover psychological disorders, mental illness, stress, and neural illnesses under the ambit if insurance policies.

This development in health insurance by IRDAI would be an important step towards development in the national health insurance ecosystem. Coverage for mental- illnesses would help those who are suffering from mental disorders and reduce the financial burden from their head.

Benefits of Covering Mental Health in Insurance 

The insured can avail of the following benefits in a health insurance plan with mental health cover:

• The benefits under health insurance with mental illness cover are similar to a normal health plan that covers hospitalization expenses, and other treatment costs as listed in the policy wordings.  
• The policy will cover individuals suffering from a mental disorder affecting their cognitive abilities, memory, thinking, mental capacity, behavior, and decision-making. The inclusions, exclusions, coverage, and premium would vary from one insurer to another.

Long Story Short

Simply put, if you want to minimize the financial burden due to mental illnesses then you can consider buying a suitable health plan that adequately covers mental illnesses and related expenses. After the IRDAI’s regulation, you can now compare and find health plans on Policybazaar.com that cover mental illnesses. As it is now mandatory for health insurance companies in India to cover the same.