IRDAI Directs to Include Mental Illness in Health Insurance Category

In a major push for mental health awareness and treatment in India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has directed insurance companies to ensure that all health insurance policies should cover mental illness.
The directive comes after two years of discussions with the National Mental Health Authority (NMHA). The insurance regulator has asked insurers to ensure that all health insurance policies should cover mental illness. Insurers have been asked to implement the new rule by October 31, 2022.
“All insurance products shall cover mental illness and comply with the provisions of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 without any deviation. Insurers are requested to confirm compliance before October 31, 2022,” said IRDAI in its circular issued on August 15, 2019.
The authority also asked insurers to provide mental health coverage on par with medical insurance. “Insurance products should be designed to ensure that the treatment of mental illness is not only comparable to physical illnesses but also of equal quality,” it said.
The new rule will also help in reducing the burden on patients, who often have to bear the financial cost of treatment. The Court emphasized that whilst mental illness does not always have physical manifestations, it can be debilitating and destructive, and the current Covid-19 pandemic highlights this fact.
The exclusionary clause in NIC’s product that was launched in 2020, two years after the Act came into force, is contrary to law, untenable, and against the spirit of the Act.