IRDAI has asked insurance companies to include mental illnesses in the existing health insurance policies.
In a circular, IRDAI said, “In line with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, every insurer shall make provision for medical insurance for treatment of mental illness on the same basis as is available for treatment of physical illness. All insurance companies are hereby directed to comply with the aforesaid provisions of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 with immediate effect.”
However, it has not clarified if health insurers and non-life players can increase the premium amount.
The move will help families with special needs family members. The medical expenses of such families is usually very high. Apart from a regular medical plan, these families also need special contingency plans for the child. This is because children with special needs were not eligible for medical insurance as they have a pre-existing condition.
Recently, IRDAI has constituted a working group for standardization of exclusions across health insurance policies. The group will examine the prevalent exclusions as well as rationalize the number of exclusions, usage of simple and easy to understand language and allowing inclusion of specific or pre-defined disease at the time of underwriting. In addition, it will rationalize exclusions that trigger advanced medical treatments, not allowing insurers to identify or define type of exclusions on their own.
