Health policy also covers mental illness

As per various media reports, a majority of working class people spend a significant amount - approximately one-third of their adult lives at the workplace. Amongst the working class, all those people who are completely satisfied with their work and enjoy their profession often prove to be way more productive than others who do not enjoy their work. When work feels stressful, the overall quality of the work life tends to suffer significantly. All those who are not happy with the working environment at their office suffer from work-related concerns which further turn into severe mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Adding fuel to the fire is a report that states in India, which is the 6th largest economy and 6th wealthiest country in the world, the disgrace revolving around mental health has restricted people from taking treatment for mental illness.

The people have developed a strange fear of being viewed differently in society and especially at their workplace. As per the report, a little over 55% of adults with mental illness do not receive any treatment throughout their lives. Moreover, there is another fact that the expenses for the treatment of mental illness like anxiety are way too high. It's not just the expenses that are restricting people from taking adequate treatment, in fact, the current healthcare system of India itself is not adequately prepared to effectively treat illness related to mental health. The industry experts believe that a majority of behavioural conditions in patients with mental illness need to be screened and treated in the primary stage. Unfortunately, a majority of hospitals across the nation lack even the minimum amenities required for treating both, physical and behavioural conditions.

Apart from everything else, the number of mental healthcare specialists in India that include behavioural professionals and psychiatrists is also significantly low. All these factors combined together make it very difficult for the patients to manage their illness and take effective treatment. In order to help the people and make treatment of mental health available to everyone, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) in its exposure draft issued last year asked mental illnesses and several other health issues to be included in health insurance coverage. Under the exposure draft, Irdai made it quite clear that insurers cannot deny coverage to policyholders who have used opioids or anti-depressants in the past. Also, the insurers cannot deny coverage to people with a proved history of clinical depression, personality or neurodegenerative disorders, sociopathy and psychopathy.

Along with people with mental illnesses, the Irdai even directed insurers to include puberty and menopause-related disorders and age-related macular problems in the regular health insurance cover. After the directions of Irdai, numerous insurers have started developing products that rightly cater to the specific needs of people suffering from mental illnesses. Two prominent insurers, Reliance Health Insurance Company and Max Bupa Health Insurance have already introduced health plans which are specifically designed for mental illness patients. Max Bupa's Health Plus plan, for now, is restricted for treatment of patients residing in tier 2 and 3 cities, however, the plan will also cover people residing in tier 1 cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

The writer is business head, health insurance, Policybazaar.com