In Asia, mental health has been overlooked many times over.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that in 2018, 86 million Southeast Asians have been diagnosed with depression.
To put that in perspective, there are 641 million Southeast Asians which means 13% of us are affected.
American Insurance Association or AIA has announced that they will be adding mental health coverage to its insurance plans.
The coverage comes in its A-Plus Health plan, which is an insurance plan with a virtual wallet. The insurance company will add a certain amount into the wallet if you don't make claims in a year.
The amount can be used to claim health checkups, hearing aids, and more. With the addition of mental health coverage, psychiatrist consultation fees will also be covered for Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Tourette Syndrome, and Postpartum Depression.
Chief Marketing Officer of AIA Bhd Heng Zee Wang said, "Mental health continues to remain a challenge for both the public and health industry due to the lack of data and understanding. While there is definitely more work to be done – AIA is happy to do whatever we can at this point to move the needle forward.
"One of the first steps we thought to address was seeking treatment, often one of the first barriers in the journey to mental health recovery. With this new feature, AIA hopes to enable more Malaysians to take that first step to seek professional help."
Being the first in Southeast Asia to offer mental health coverage, we hope that other insurance providers will follow suite.
Source : Mashable.com
