Mental Health Insurance in India—A Promise with Too Many Asterisks

India is experiencing a mental health crisis. An estimated 60-70 million people are expected to live with a mental illness in the next few years—about the same size as the population of France. Although a 41% increase in online searches for mental health insurance was noted in the past year, actual coverage is still insufficient for most Indians. 

 

There are regulations requiring all health insurance policies to include coverage for mental illness, but the truth is that great support is reserved for those who are hospitalized. Outpatient therapy sessions or psychiatrist visits are rarely covered at all, while medication support is often full of elaborate terms and exclusions. Most health insurance policies include a requirement of hospitalization before any substantial claim for mental health services would be covered, regardless of whether the care actually takes place in an inpatient setting—a requirement that would not be used for any other medical service. 

 

Industry-wide accounts of mental health and illness show that less than 1% of all health insurance claims are for a treatment related to mental health, which reflects the disconnect between claims and practice. Experts in the insurance system argue that there needs to be a shift in the insurance ecosystem from emergency first to preventive and outpatient. The state of Karnataka seems to be where insurance companies have the highest interest in covering mental illness, but experts argue that there needs to be actual insurance coverage to make a meaningful difference and not merely compliance with regulations. 

 

Source: Business Standard