What Employers are doing about Behavioral Health: Survey Results
Progress has been hard won, but the stigma associated with behavioral health conditions is lessening. Employers are very aware that their people need support for their behavioral health – in fact, in a survey last year, when employers were asked to identify benefit program priorities for the next 3-5 years, improving access to behavioral health care was ranked number one by the nation’s largest employers.
An early look at soon-to-be-released results from a survey of more than 700 organizations conducted this month reveals the actions employers are taking to provide greater support for behavioral health in 2023. The rapid adoption of virtual behavioral healthcare is a game-changer: Over half (52%) of survey respondents says employees will have access to virtual behavioral health care in 2023, up from 28% in 2021. Telebehavioral healthcare addresses access issues and navigation challenges seen with in-person behavioral healthcare. It is convenient and destigmatizing in nature, in that people receive care in the privacy of their homes without the need to get to and from a physical office space.
About two-thirds of survey respondents have enhanced EAP services or will do so next year. The EAP is a logical place to start because most employers already have an EAP in place and their employers are familiar with it – and it’s a way to offer care at no or little cost to the employee. By covering additional sessions, or arranging with their EAP or other vendors to provide virtual options and self-directed tools, employers can make it easier for people to get quick support for emotional well-being.
Over a third of all large employers are training managers to recognize behavioral health issues and direct employees to existing resources. Importantly, about a fourth of employers are also providing employees with this type of training so they are better equipped to respond to a peer who may be struggling, and have conducted anti-stigma campaigns to help employees feel comfortable taking advantage of behavioral health services. (We’ve described how important manager training and peer support can be in this story of an employee dealing with a substance use disorder.)
Nearly a fourth have responded to the ongoing shortage of behavioral health professionals by contracting with a supplemental network of behavioral healthcare providers. Some have reduced cost-sharing for behavioral healthcare to remove cost barriers.
It is encouraging that so many employers have prioritized behavioral health in their health program strategies. That’s how we will progress to what we hope will be the future of behavioral health care – an integrated, everyday part of health care in general, in which an anxiety disorder, for example, is as easily identified and treated as a sprained ankle.