Can People Get Free Mental Healthcare?

Issues concerning mental health are on the rise. Yet, mental healthcare remains outside the reach of most Indians. What does the law say about this?

Every few months, India wakes up and talks about mental health. This is often sparked by events that you wish had never happened, like people dying by suicide. [Note - I recently learnt that the correct term is to “die by suicide,” and not “commit suicide” simply because it’s often not a direct choice.]

But, I digress.

Despite all the talk on social media, not everyone realises how expensive mental healthcare is. I asked my friends to recommend therapists. Most professionals they named charged upwards of ₹1,000 per hour.

That’s more than what most Indian households earn in a day. 

Problem? Very much so.

Making mental healthcare accessible is a complex problem. While awareness is one challenge, that isn’t what this post is about.

The Law

Today, we want to talk about a simple idea - Can I get free mental healthcare from the government?

India introduced the Mental Healthcare Act in 2017 (‘MHA’). The MHA went far beyond what previous legislations had done. It set out a clear objective - to provide mental healthcare services to those in need and to help people with mental illness secure their rights.

Here’s the most critical aspect: the MHA grants a right to access mental healthcare services from government-funded institutions to anyone with a “mental illness”.

But, there’s the catch.

The definition of a mental illness has been confined to mental conditions which “substantially impair” a person’s judgement, mood, perception of reality, or the ability to meet the ordinary demands of life.

That’s rather narrow.

What Does This Imply?

If you want free mental healthcare, you can approach a government institution falling within the scope of the MHA. Treatment, as well as the cost of certain identified drugs, will be borne by the state.

However, you must meet the criteria laid out in the statute. A number of mental health concerns (like some eating disorders or anxiety that does not meet the diagnosis threshold) fall outside the purview of the MHA.

A practitioner has informed us that a number of government institutions try to treat people who aren’t “substantially impaired,” to the extent possible. But, strictly speaking, you’ll fall outside the purview of the MHA in such cases.

Another concern is that the MHA does not extend to:

(a) private practitioners;

(b) intellectual disabilities (covered elsewhere); and,

(c) the broader idea of mental wellness (i.e. a more positive view of mental health).

The Challenge

Mental health is tough to write about. It is, arguably, even tougher to legislate on.

But here’s what you can do. Inform people of their rights and help them figure out how they can fix a broken system.

A little change (whether through law, policy, or otherwise) can go a long way.

Stay WorldWise!

PS: At WorldWise, we feel strongly about mental health. So, we are organising a discussion on this. The speaker is Mr. Chris Parsons (who heads the India Practice at Herbert Smith Freehills, a global law firm). He will be speaking on mental health for law students and early-career lawyers. The talk will focus on ambition and working in high-stress environments, so it’s equally relevant for non-lawyers too!