MAy, 2019 | The Health
ISSUE: MENTAL HEALTH
Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj, President of MMHA
is optimistic about the future in mental health
coverage, as he knows discussions are being made
among insurance providers to develop one.
Anusha Thavarajah, CEO of AIA Bhd states that
mental health is not as clear-cut as other diseases
insured, therefore needs significant research and
development before having a coverage plan made.
mental health
And according to her, the insurance companies
stated that the demand for mental health coverage
among Malaysians are lacking, hence the lack of cover-
age for it. The notion will and have been met with
scepticism by industry experts.
Anita Abu Bakar, President of the Mental Illness
Awareness & Support Association (MIASA) shot down
the statement by saying that, “It shouldn’t be the case.
From what we at MIASA see, the demand is clearly
present among Malaysians. The problem is that many
Malaysians are not coming forward about their mental
health issues because of the stigmas surrounding it.”
All is not loss
Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj, President of the Malay-
Statistics will show
you that stress,
anxiety disorder,
and depression
tops the mental
health issues in the
country.”
11
The support
we can actually
get now
From what we have seen so far, there is
a clear gap in the market for mental health
coverage in Malaysia, and the insurance
companies are keeping their lips shut for the
time being.
We do however, have some form of
financial support in regards to mental health
in Malaysia. And it is provided by the Social
Security Organisation (PERKESO).
Since 2006, PERKESO has put forth
the means to compensate employees for
depression and stress-related illnesses
at the workplace. The guideline of which
they operate is the Impairment and
Disability Assessment of Traumatic Injuries,
Occupational Diseases and Invalidity (second
edition).
The guideline acts as a way for healthcare
providers to assess such disorders relating to
mental health in the workplace.
PERKESO’s Employment Insurance
System (EIS) lets employees who have lost
their jobs caused by any invalidity (mental
health issues included) to receive allowances
while they search for new jobs. This can be
utilised by employees who have experience
immense stress at the workplace and are in
need of a change in workplace culture.
Other than that, the Invalidity Scheme and
the Pencen Ilat scheme from PERKESO also
helps individuals struggling with more severe
mental health illnesses and are unable to
return to work to receive financial support.
Treatment for mental illness are also
covered as part of Berjaya SOMPO’s health
insurance coverage, but only as part of the in-
hospital treatment and would not cover any
follow-up therapies thereon. — The Health
sian Mental Health Association (MMHA) however,
have high hopes and optimism for the future in mental
healthcare.
“I know that even as we speak, the insurance indus-
try is taking into consideration the need to have some
form of medical coverage for mental health problems.
They just need to work out the details as things are
not always clear-cut when it comes to mental health,”
says Dr Andrew.
Additionally, we actually had the chance to ask
the question to Anusha Thavarajah, CEO of AIA Bhd
during one of AIA’s recent launch event. This is what
she has to say;
“It’s not that we don’t want to cover mental health.
But mental health is very hard to understand and dif-
ficult to diagnose. We want to start looking at it more
seriously and work with healthcare professionals to
clearly define and quantify it, so that we would be
able to come up with the right coverage. We want
to make sure that we could create something that is
impactful.”
This means that there are plans to have mental
health coverage be developed here in the country.
Only time will tell whether such coverage will truly
help support Malaysians facing the insurmountable
amount of mental health issues and illnesses now.
— The Health