Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39564263›Full record

ReviewIndian journal of psychological medicine2025

Mental Health Insurance in India: An Examination of Policy Implementation Post-MHCA 2017.

Vijaya Chandra Reddy Avula, Sangha Mitra Godi, Shashidhara Munivenkatappa, Sridhar Amalakanti

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Indian journal of psychological medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Vijaya Chandra Reddy AvulaDept. of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0657-043X
Sangha Mitra GodiDept. of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1059-0836
Shashidhara MunivenkatappaDept. of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Sridhar AmalakantiDept. of General Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2179-6525

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose of review: Owing to the high cost of care and huge treatment gap associated with mental illnesses in India, this review investigated the implementation of mental health insurance coverage in India following the mandate of the Mental Health Care Act of 2017 (MHCA 2017). Collection and analysis of data: We systematically identified health insurance providers in India through the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) website. We meticulously searched and obtained policy documents from either the IRDAI website or the respective insurance company websites. Our classification process involved determining if a policy explicitly covered mental illness, which we discerned by examining definitions of mental illness, indemnification clauses or the presence of International Classification of Diseases-10 codes within the policy. Conclusion: We evaluated 235 policies provided by 30 insurance companies and found that 37.5% (88) of policies covered mental illnesses, 11.5% (28) covered persons with disabilities, whereas 51% (119) did not offer any coverage. The majority of the companies did not cover suicide and substance use disorders. There are disparities in the outpatient care offerings, including extended waiting periods for coverage of mental illness. This review highlights the importance of aligning insurance practices with MHCA 2017s provisions to promote mental health equity in India. It also advocates for comprehensive mental health coverage that includes outpatient care, substance use disorders and suicide as well as a need for standardized definitions and transparent policy communication.

Indexed as

IndiaInsurancemental health insurancemental illnessMHCA 2017

Identifiers

PMID39564263
PMCPMC11572448

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.