In a sector that generally excludes mental illness, Fidelidade’s multi-care health insurance will, from November 1, launch comprehensive mental health coverage, including the prevention and treatment of mental illness. This coverage will be available to offer customers Basic With outpatient capital.
In the field of therapy, consultations in psychiatry and psychology, psychotherapy sessions and psychological hospitalization will be guaranteed. In addition, consultations in psychology covered by online medicine are complemented by other services at no additional cost provided by psychologists: sleep improvement, stress and anxiety management, parenting counseling.
Portugal is the fifth country in the European Union in terms of the prevalence of mental illness. About 20% of the Portuguese population suffers from mental illness at this time and 50% has developed or will develop a mental illness during their lifetime.
Mental and behavioral disorders account for 11.8% of the global burden of disease in Portugal, which is more than cancer (10.4%) and outweighed only by cardiovascular disease (13.7%) (DGS, Mental Health in Numbers – 2014).
For Anna Rita Gomez, Project Development Office at Multicare: “Lack of mental health coverage has long been a concern at Multicare and the pandemic has accelerated our need to provide an effective response. In this context, we have developed a distinctive offering that includes prevention and treatment, including In that psychiatric hospitalization, putting our offer at the best level found in Europe. Today, we look at the health of our clients in a more holistic way.”
Every year World Mental Health Day is celebrated in October (10). This year’s theme, set by the World Federation of Mental Health, is “Mental Health in an Unequal World”. According to the General Directorate of Research, “The celebration aims to put mental health issues on the agendas of governments, as well as focus the public’s attention on a cause common to all peoples, transcending national, cultural, political, social and economic borders.”
Initiatives like the FideLide Initiative are an important step toward making mental health care accessible to more people and treating mental illness with more openness and objectivity, breaking the stigma inherent in the condition.