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After the life-altering events of 2020, how can companies apply the lessons learned that year for a happier, healthier workforce in 2021?
While no one can perfectly predict the future, one thing is certain—to survive, companies and their employees will need to remain healthy and adaptive to rapid change.
Mental healthcare benefits are a vital part of employee wellbeing. Without effective access to treatment, the mental health statistics for companies are quite dire. New research shows that each year, organizations spend an average of over $15,000 on each employee with mental health issues, and lost productivity costs employers more than $36 billon annually.
Luckily, identifying the problems has also helped us identify solutions.
The good news is that the changes U.S. employees would like to see to their mental healthcare benefits are well within the scope of organizations and their healthcare providers. Most of these solutions stem from greater flexibility and access.
To better understand the experience of American employees, Spring Health commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct an online survey of 972 employed U.S. adults about the level of care they received from their employer-sponsored mental healthcare plan in 2020, and the care they need to achieve better mental health in 2021. Here are the key findings and mental health statistics that emerged from this survey.
Who is seeking mental healthcare?
- Nearly half of U.S. employees (49%) sought mental healthcare in 2020
- Of those employees, 38% say their desire to manage emotions related to the coronavirus pandemic influenced them to seek care
What problems are associated with employer health plans?
- 43% of U.S. employees who sought mental healthcare last year say their employer-sponsored health plan mental health benefits did not meet all of their mental healthcare needs in 2020
- More than a quarter (26%) of U.S. employees who sought mental healthcare in 2020 describe the care they received as substandard
What mental healthcare benefit offerings U.S. employees say would help them to achieve better mental health in 2021:
- 21% cite a simpler way to determine which therapists or psychiatrists in their network specialize in the mental health concern they have
- 19% cite a simplified way to find out which therapists or psychiatrists in their network are taking new clients
- 15% say access to a professional care navigator to help them figure out what type of care would be best for them would help them achieve better mental health in 2021
- 17% say the option to easily make mental healthcare appointments through their computer or smartphone would help them achieve better mental health in 2021
- Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) cite a simplified way to find out which therapists or psychiatrists in their network share their ethnic, LGBTQ, or other personal background
- 19% cite lower copays for therapy or medication management appointments
- Meanwhile, 17% cite employer-funded therapy or medication management appointments
- 17% say an option to quickly change psychiatrists or therapists if they need to would help them achieve better mental health in 2021
- 18% cite shorter wait times for therapy or medication management appointments
- 19% cite their therapy or medication management sessions to have a virtual option
- An option for online assessments to screen for mental health concerns was also popular, with 16% indicating this is a mental healthcare benefit offering that would help them achieve better mental health in 2021
- These online assessments can take the form of self-assessment tests for disorders including depression and other mental illness, which affects nearly one in five Americans
Now that you are aware of the latest mental health statistics and the potential cost to your organization, it's time to take action. The risk of doing nothing is too high.
Discover how to level up your benefits with expanded access to mental healthcare that's precise, personal, and proven.
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