Private Medical Insurance For Mental Health

Mental health still comes with stigma attached . Compared to other sides of medicine it is an area which is underfunded and little researched. Although it has been suggested that at any one time one in ten British people will be suffering from a mental health problem it is something that is not often talked about. But what about when you are taking out a private health care policy? Is this something you take into account? Unless they have experience a close family member with mental health issues most people never consider that it might be something that they could be at risk from.

Private medical insurance does cover some aspects of mental health. As with all health concerns you will not be covered for any pre-existing condition. So if you are already suffering from a mental health condition you will not be able to get a policy which covers you for treatment. Mental health issues are often long term which then creates problems when seeking medical health insurance as policies are designed to cover only 'acute' conditions.

So what is covered and how can we compare health insurance policies when it comes to mental health?

Some companies exclude mental health care completely from all their policies. For example Norwich Union (soon to be AVIVA) do not cover mental health and do not provide psychiatric services. Most companies will provide cover but only in their more expensive policies and then sometimes as an optional element.

PruHealth provide in-patient cover in their Comprehensive Plan but only for 45 days per year of cover. They do however provide full out-patient care in this plan and restricted cover in their Essential Plan.

BUPA provide different levels of psychiatric cover with their two top plans Healthcare Select 1 and 2 providing out-patient, in-patient and out-patient treatment cover again with 45 days per year limit on in patient stays. However they also qualify that 'psychiatric treatment is covered on a discretionary basis and after two years of continuous membership.'

Freedom Healthnet, who operate in a slightly different way by providing you with money to pay for you own health care in a way that suits you also provide health cover for psychiatric conditions. In-patient treatment is covered in full up £10,000 per policy year and out-patient treatment is covered for up to £1,500 per policy year.

Even though developing a serious mental health problem is not something we want to think about it can be devestating not only for the individual but also for the whole family. It is something that is well worth considering when taking out health cover for you and your family.