'Mental health consulting needs to be included in health insurance'

NEW DELHI: Majority feel that mental health consulting should be included in their health insurance and one-third are hesitant in reaching out to mental health experts because of the cost implication, as per a survey.

According to the Aditya Birla Health Insurance Report, about 85 per cent of the population prefer cutting down on some luxury items and spend more on health insurance, while 89 per cent of the respondents believe that mental health consulting should be included in their health insurance.

Hence, there is an urgent need to increase awareness on mental health, it said, adding the insurance sector is now getting actively involved as the scale of mental health issues in the 'New Normal' has never been bigger.

The report is based on research conducted with 6,600 respondents across 19 cities in India.

The survey said more than half of the respondents searched and watched online fitness videos, whereas 69 per cent use wearables to check their health stats and track their targeted number of steps.

However, nearly one in every three respondents (32 per cent) admit that they do not monitor health stats regularly, such as weight and blood pressure.

Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, said, ''Due to the pandemic, in the 'New Health Normal', people are realising the importance of a health-focused lifestyle and are actively seeking avenues that can support this healthy lifestyle - both online and offline.''