Parliamentary Panel asks Govt to Execute Mental Healthcare Act and Monitor Insurance Delivery

A Parliamentary Panel that investigated the country's mental healthcare and management policies found that, despite the fact that the Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA), 2017 was introduced five years ago, there is still much work to be done to effectively implement the Act's provisions. It also advised the Ministry to create a mechanism for monitoring the supply of mental health insurance. In its 148th report on Mental Healthcare and its Management in Contemporary Times, the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare noted that the Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA), 2017 incorporates several provisions based on the National Mental Health Policy recommendations, such as ensuring access to mental healthcare treatment and facilities, facilitating social recovery through financial literacy, and access to community support systems.

Despite the presence of these provisions in both the NMH and the MHCA, the majority of them remain unimplemented. "The Mental Health Care Act (MHCA) serves as a strategic link between the National Mental Health Policy and state-led programmes and interventions." It has the ability to reshape India's mental health environment by assuring accessible and rights-based mental health treatments. However, despite the fact that the MHCA went into effect five years ago in 2018, there is still considerable work to be done to fully execute the Act's provisions," stated the Committee, which is chaired by Rajya Sabha Member Bhubaneswar Kalita. The Committee, while acknowledging the establishment of the Central Mental Health Authority (CMHA) took note of the largely inconspicuous presence and functioning of CMHA and observed that despite CMHA being a statutory body and almost five years after its establishment, there needs to be more public presence about its functioning and work done. "The Committee, therefore, recommends the Government to develop a dedicated website for the authority and recommends the authority to release its annual report consisting of its vision, objectives, programmes implemented, achievements etc.

The Committee would also like to be apprised of the present status and the budgetary allocation to the CMHA fund, which the Central Government primarily funds," it added. Like CMHA, the State Mental Health Authority is crucial for implementing the National Mental Health Programme across all states. Though most of the States have established SMHAs, efforts related to the appointment of ex-officio and non-official, appointment of CEOs, officers and other staff, development of mechanisms for complaints redressal and establishment of SMHA funds need further push in most of the states. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to expedite the work-related completion of these issues along with establishment of Mental Health Review Boards (MHRB), which still remain unconstituted in the majority of states. It also noted the remark of the NHRC that almost all the 47 Government mental health institutions functioning in the country have failed to adhere to the MHCA guidelines and recommended the Ministry to put concerted efforts to strengthen the infrastructure, capacity, and facilities and upgrade these institutions to generate more human resources. The Ministry should take measures to enable these institutions to become centres of academic research and also participate in the public healthcare system.