How To Implement Mental Health Benefits

Six critical components to consider

Over the last year, Americans’ mental well-being has been challenged at an unprecedented level as a result of a worldwide pandemic, historic racial justice protests and a polarizing national election. Many have had to deal with isolation, loneliness, grief, anger, increased anxiety and depression while navigating the new paradigm of working and supporting their families. The evolving responsibilities at work and in the home have taken a toll on employers and their employees in tremendous ways, with 76% of employees currently experiencing burnout symptoms. As employees re-enter the workplace and children return to school, employees will likely experience increased stress and anxiety amongst their employees and will need support in navigating this transition. 
 

Many employers have begun to help their employees access mental health care services through their employee assistance program (EAP) and health benefits. However, today’s environment demands a new level of support to ensure a healthy, productive and competitive workforce as mental health concerns continue to rise. 

Employers who have recently invested in improving their mental health offerings report that employees see their mental health benefit as the single most important one being offered but it’s important to note, not all mental health benefits are equal. When employers look to implement new mental health benefits and providers, there are six critical components to be aware of for optimizing this type of benefit and receiving a high-quality solution.

1. Easy Benefit Access 

In today’s world, the ease of access to a benefit is critical. Be sure to look for solutions that have a smooth sign-up process and clear actionable steps to find needed information across a wide range of possible needs. The world of mental wellness can be confusing for many and people often need help figuring it out. The best programs offer quick access to live human support and navigation with qualified professionals to address potential barriers to finding the right type of support.

2. Wide Range of Support Options 

Every person is on their own unique mental wellness journey and benefits solutions should support a full spectrum of support options. Preventive education and self-help tools can help employees expand their knowledge and skills to build resiliency. For those seeking individual care, a wide range of options should be available with licensed mental health professionals for both counseling and medication evaluations. For those with critical needs that require specialized intense services, the best solutions will help employees find the right level of care that is in-network to help minimize costs. 

3. Marketing Plan to Overcome Shame/Stigma 

Over 80% of employees report feeling shame or stigma about accessing help, making it one of the largest barriers to seeking mental wellness support. Proactive, multi-channel internal engagement campaigns are crucial for building awareness and encouraging employees to seek help as soon as it is needed. A multi-channel strategy is crucial as different subgroups of employees will respond better to different engagement strategies. The hardest step of care is often the first one. Repeated education, engagement and support are all needed to help people overcome fear and take that first step in seeking help. 

4. Availability of Care 

Many service providers have networks of thousands of providers, but the openings for people seeking care can be weeks to months away. Solutions that only supply a list of providers and require an employee to make multiple calls to find an appointment lead to too much abandonment of help-seeking and are simply not effective. Data from England’s National Health Service show us that quick access to reliable care can markedly improve overall outcomes for a population. Be sure to find programs that guarantee access to care in a couple of days instead of a couple of months and also have quick, intuitive ways to schedule initial care. 

5. Measure Care Outcomes 

Reliable and consistent outcome measurement is not part of most mental health care delivery today. Without outcome measurement, we cannot truly know if our clients are improving, whether providers are actually delivering good outcomes and we cannot effectively measure the usefulness of any of our programs. Measuring outcomes across providers and programs takes a lot of work and the best benefits programs will measure outcomes across a wide range of problem areas. Look for programs that are committed to routine outcome measurement throughout the course of care that can then be used to show you the true effectiveness of their offering. 

6. Safe, High-Quality Programs 

As more people access mental health support, the ability to scale services becomes even more important. At the same time, safety and quality care are critical elements to any program to ensure the right level of care for each individual. Key elements of a clinically safe program include the ability to help risk-stratify employee needs, track the effectiveness of individual providers and handle acute safety issues 24/7. 

As the uncertainty of the pandemic continues and the mental health needs of employees and their families continue to grow rapidly as we approach the return to work and school, employers should act now to ensure robust mental health benefits programs are in place. The return of investment in the first year can be more than 5X with a more healthy and resilient workforce. One of the best ways to improve retention, increase the productivity of your teams and support the health of your workforce is ensuring your mental health benefit meets the six elements above.

Dr. Millard Brown is a Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs of Spring Health. Visit www.springhealth.com Connect Dr. Millard Brown Follow @spring_health