Workplace mental health addressed by more employers, HR consulting firm Mercer finds - Crain's Chicago Business

A new survey finds more employers are improving access to mental health care, including offering on-site counseling and online programs to address anxiety, depression, sleep and pain.

Among 523 employers surveyed by New York-based human resources consulting firm Mercer, job-related stress and depression or anxiety are the top workforce behavioral health concerns, with more than half of the respondents citing these issues as a concern for their organizations. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents say adequate access to outpatient behavioral health care is lacking in some or all of their locations, but many are seeking to increase employee access to quality behavioral health services instead of waiting for the situation to improve, according to the survey.

Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management professor Amanda Starc says health benefits are a great way to attract and retain employees.

“If employees value mental health services, employers will want to arrange those services in a cost-effective way,” she said. “If it is difficult to organize and procure these services using traditional insurance markets, employers may be able to use innovative arrangements, including telemedicine, to provide valuable services in a more cost-effective way.”

The biggest companies are the most likely to report serious concerns over behavioral health conditions in the workforce. Mercer surmises that’s because “they are the most likely to have assessed workforce mental health issues by reviewing trends in claims data and/or employee health assessments.” Sixty-nine percent of respondents with 5,000 or more employees say workforce depression or anxiety is a concern in their organization, compared with 28 percent of respondents with fewer than 500 employees. These small employers rated job-related stress and financial stress as the top two risk factors associated with behavioral health conditions in their workforces.

Opioid use disorders and alcohol problems are ranked lower on the list, with about a quarter of respondents saying those are concerns for their organizations.

A majority of employer health plans are affected by the shortage of behavioral health care providers. About 75 percent of respondents with 5,000 or more employees say adequate access is a concern at all or some of their locations, while 43 percent of small employers say access is a concern.

Many of the employers seeking to improve access to care start with an Employee Assistance Program since they usually already have one in place, according to the survey. Almost half of the respondents have enhanced the services offered by the EAP within the last two years, or changed vendors to provide more offerings, including onsite counseling services and online programs.

About a third of respondents have recently implemented a teletherapy program, which offers convenience and less-stigmatized access, expands access options and can also provide another avenue for seeking psychiatric services. Some employers have conducted network analyses focused on behavioral health care access, including for more complex treatments, such as residential or inpatient settings. A small number of respondents have contracted with a third-party vendor to supplement existing providers and broaden access options.

Roughly half of the respondents believe their organization’s efforts to support workforce behavioral health have been effective.

On the other hand, about a quarter of respondents haven’t taken any steps to improve employee access to behavioral health services.

http://bit.ly/2WB0LF5