Does Health Insurance Cover Mental Health?

Most insurers offer mental health as an add-on, while some like Bupa include it as a standard. In this blog, we’ll outline the key benefits and everything you need to understand about private health insurance for mental health. Our experts will provide tips on choosing the best policy for your mental well-being.

What Is a Mental Health Condition?

A mental health condition is a term used to describe a problem with the way someone thinks, feels, or behaves. It can affect your mood, how you handle stress, and your relationships with others. Just like you can get sick with a cold or flu, sometimes people get sick in their minds too.

It’s important to remember that having a mental health condition doesn’t mean you’re weak or “crazy.” It’s something that can happen to anyone, and with the right support and treatment, people can feel better.

Types of Mental Health

In the UK, about one in four people deal with different kinds of mental health problems. Here, I’ll explain some of them:

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder and social anxiety disorder, make you worry and fear a lot, disrupting your daily life. You might feel really nervous, restless and have physical symptoms like sweating or shaking.

Depression

Depression, a mood disorder, makes you feel sad, hopeless and uninterested in things you used to enjoy. It changes how you think, feel and act, affecting your appetite, sleep, and energy. Therapy and medication can help.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder causes extreme mood swings between feeling super energised and impulsive (mania) and feeling really low and worthless (depression). These swings can mess up your life and relationships, often needing meds and therapy.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder that messes with your thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. You might see or hear things that aren’t there, have weird thoughts and find it hard to connect with others. Meds and therapy can help manage symptoms.

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders make you act, think, and feel in ways that don’t fit with what’s usual in your culture, causing distress or trouble with daily life. Examples include borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. Therapy, like DBT and CBT, can help.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD can happen after a traumatic event and causes symptoms like bad memories, flashbacks, nightmares and avoiding stuff that reminds you of the trauma. Therapy, like CPT or EMDR, can help you deal with it.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD makes you have unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and do the same things over and over (compulsions) to deal with them. It can be distressing and disrupt your life. Treatment, like therapy and medication, can help.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, mess up your relationship with food and your body and can be really harmful. Treatment, like therapy and medical care, can help you recover.

Does private health insurance cover mental health support?

Private health insurance often covers mental health support, but it varies depending on the insurer. Some include it as part of their basic package, while others offer it as an optional add-on for an extra cost. Virtual counselling, where you talk to a therapist online, is often included.

For instance, The Exeter offers coverage for existing mental health conditions through its Healthwise App. This means you can get help for mental health issues you already have without any extra charges. So, private health insurance can be really helpful if you need support with your mental well-being.

What is mental health coverage and what does it include?

Private health insurance for mental health often covers a broad spectrum of mental health issues. While the specifics may vary between providers, having private mental insurance can include benefits such as coverage for the following disorders or illnesses:

• Acute Depression
• Anxiety
• Eating disorders
• Hyperactivity
• PTSD
• Addiction
• Mood disorder
• Phobias
• Psychological disorder
• OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)

Costs of Consultation and Therapy

Typically, mental health coverage doesn’t come as a standalone policy. It’s usually an add-on benefit, with an extra charge added to your monthly premium. This addition is usually quite affordable, around £5-10 more per month. However, some policies include mental health coverage as standard, meaning it’s already included in the premium you pay.

What is included with Mental Health Cover?

Each provider offers different things, but paying for mental health cover on top of your private health insurance gives you:

• Access to specialist treatments, either as a day patient or inpatient (often up to 28 days)
• Appointments with psychologists and therapists for counselling
• Appointments with psychiatrists
• Access to mental health therapists for support with wellbeing

What mental health conditions aren’t covered by private health insurance?

Your private health insurance may not cover certain mental health conditions, such as long-term ones like dementia or developmental disorders. Also, if you’ve already been diagnosed with a mental health condition, it likely won’t be covered due to pre-existing conditions rules.

One major advantage of private health insurance is the quick access to help, whether for physical or mental health concerns. With mental health cover, being able to seek assistance promptly can be crucial. Depending on your policy, you might not even need a GP referral to access counselling or therapy services. So, having private health insurance with mental health cover can provide you with timely support when you need it most.

Understanding Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Mental Health Conditions

If you experienced symptoms, medication, guidance, treatment, or diagnostic testing for a disease, illness, or injury before obtaining the coverage, it is considered a pre-existing condition. The best medical insurance for mental health is typically intended to cover unanticipated or new medical conditions that arise after you have coverage. Therefore, a lot of insurance won’t pay for a physical or mental pre-existing condition. 

Having a history of mental illness does not always mean that obtaining health insurance will be impossible. However, this may be covered if, after obtaining your policy, you experience a new, unrelated mental health issue. For instance, if you had experienced stress in the past but then had depression.

Advantages of Having Health Insurance for Mental Health

Indeed, private health insurance for mental health provides several primary benefits for you, some are:

• Peace of Mind: Knowing that you have access to all medical facilities without waiting for NHS treatments, you get peace of mind, which also has a great impact on your overall health.
• Saving and Income: While there are costs associated with private insurance, in some cases, it might be more cost-effective than missing work due to untreated mental health issues.
• Confidentiality: Some individuals might prefer the increased confidentiality offered by private treatment, especially when dealing with sensitive mental health issues.
• Quick Treatments: Having private health insurance with mental health cover can provide you with timely support when you need it most.

What to consider before getting private medical insurance with mental health support

When it comes to choosing private mental health insurance plans, there are various things you must consider:

• What’s Included 
• Understanding Limits
• Treatment it covers
• Claiming process
• GP Referral
• Virtual Support

Available Free Support

There are free listening services available:

• Samaritans you can call free to 116 123
• Childline call 0800 1111
• Shout  text 85258

If you’re seeking immediate mental health support, there are several places you can reach out to for free advice and assistance:

• NHS
• Mind
• Young Minds for kids and young people
• Love Respect for unhealthy relationships

These resources offer confidential support and guidance when you need someone to talk to.

Premier PMI: One-stop Solution for your Private Health Insurance

Undoubtedly, you can work at your best and carry out your everyday tasks without much assistance with good mental health. Because mental diseases can be quite severe and require costly treatment, not everyone can pay for their medical care. Let’s be serious and support mental well-being by having access to the best health insurance for mental health.

If you want to make informed decisions about choosing the right private mental health insurance in the UK, get in touch with our experts at Premier PMI.

Stuart Hendy, Senior PMI Advisor &Editor

Stuart Hendy is a highly experienced health insurance broker with extensive knowledge of private medical insurance and private treatment. His expertise is frequently sought by industry professionals and his insights have been featured in leading financial publications. Stuart is committed to providing his clients with the best possible healthcare solutions and empowering them to make informed decisions.

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