Mental Illness and Health Insurance:

Unfortunately, many health insurance policies do not cover treatment for mental illnesses. When mental illness is a pre-existing condition, it can be even more difficult to find coverage. However, it isn't impossible, but it's important to keep in mind some important areas of coverage before selecting a new policy.

Typically, when you have a pre-existing condition, you will end up paying higher monthly premiums, and mental illness is no exception. When these higher costs are weighed against what you would have to pay without coverage, you can still end up saving money by purchasing an insurance policy.

Here are some important areas of coverage that you will need to have covered by your insurance policy if you are currently suffering from mental illness.

Medication

Prescription drug coverage is essential, particularly if you need medication to maintain your condition. Rising costs of prescriptions can be prohibited if your plan does not offer a prescription drug benefit. However, there are other options, such as drug discount cards, which may help you pick up the slack.

If your policy does feature a prescription drug benefit, make sure that the medications that you require are indeed covered by this plan before purchasing coverage. Many types of medication may be excluded and it is helpful to make sure that you can afford the medication you need.

Treatment Options

If you are currently seeing a physician, you will need to make sure that you can continue this relationship. HMO plans typically limit your choice of a physician, and it can be detrimental to suddenly switch your primary care giver.

In addition to your regular physician, you will also need to make sure that you will be able to see specialists and still enjoy coverage. This may include therapists as well, depending on your insurance plan. Treatment for mental illness should not be taken lightly and you will need to have as much coverage as possible to ensure that you are receiving proper treatment.

Long-Term Coverage

Some degenerative mental illnesses result in a need for long-term care. You may need to purchase an additional policy specifically for long-term care if your current policy will not provide coverage in this area. It is also helpful to make sure that the amount of long-term care is no limited by time restrictions or dollar amounts. You may also need to see if you can receive in-home our outpatient services as well.

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