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MENTAL HEALTH IS THE MOST REQUESTED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT. HERE'S HOW EMPLOYERS CAN
HELP

By  Camilla Velasquez April 07, 2022, 9:00 a.m. EDT 4 Min Read
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Exacerbated by the pandemic, demand for mental health treatment has ballooned
significantly, with a large increase in treatment of anxiety and depression
compared to 2020, according to a survey by the American Psychological
Association.

These numbers align with recent data we’ve seen from Justworks’ customers. As a
human resource software company, Justworks helps small business owners get
access to leading benefits, allowing their employees to manage their health and
wellness, take time off, gain access to mental health offerings, and more.
Here’s what we found:

 * In a survey to Justworks health insurance participants, 23% of respondents
   cited using their health insurance for mental health care (i.e., therapy,
   rehab, anxiety and stress counseling) in the past year. In the same survey,
   60% of respondents reported that they expect their employer to invest in
   mental health support.
 * Mental health needs were reported as the reason half of our users, whose
   primary care provider is One Medical, visited the doctor.
 * Three-quarters of interactions on our employee assistance program, which
   helps employees navigate personal issues that might be impacting their work
   performance, involved behavioral health support.
 * Half of the Justworks users of patient advocacy and assistance company,
   Health Advocate, cited mental health in their top three needs.

Mental health is mental wealth
Not only is supporting employees’ mental health the right thing to do, it’s good
for the bottom line. A healthy workforce has been shown to be a productive one,
and studies have shown that mental health and physical health are inextricably
linked. Good benefit offerings are often a key consideration of potential
employees.



Given employee demands and the surge of anxiety and depression, if your company
doesn’t offer support for mental healthcare, now is the time to start. First,
the basics: There’s no Federal law that requires plans to provide mental health
benefits, but the vast majority of large group plans do, according to the APA.

In 2008, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction
Equity Act passed, requiring companies with 50 or more employees to provide
coverage for mental health, behavioral health, and substance-use disorders that
is equal to physical care coverage. The Affordable Care Act expanded this
requirement in 2010 to individual health insurance coverage as well. The major
caveat here is that many insurers still do not adequately cover mental health
care.

Not enough providers for those who need it
The other side of this problem is with mental health providers themselves: there
are only 30 psychologists and about 15 psychiatrists per 100,000 people in the
US, compared to about 156 primary care providers per 100,000 people. Making this
situation more difficult is that many mental health practitioners don’t take
insurance. About a third of people with private insurance had difficulty finding
a therapist who would accept their coverage, according to data cited by The Wall
Street Journal. That’s more than three times as many people who had difficulties
finding an in-network primary care provider.

Almost six times the number of mental health office visits in 2017 (the most
recent data available) were out of network compared with primary care visits. In
2021, people struggled to find a mental health provider, with therapists telling
potential patients they aren’t taking on new cases, or not calling back at all.

How small businesses can help their employees
The shortage of mental health care in this country is largely outside of
businesses’ control — of course, including access to mental health care in
benefit packages is a good start. But while small businesses shouldn’t have to
bear the responsibility of coverage and provider shortages, what they can do is
foster cultures of wellness and care that prioritizes each individual’s physical
and emotional well-being.

Read more: Mental health coaching: Where human and digital meet to maximize
support

At Justworks, we witness how our customers are actively working to find more
ways to offer their employees a variety of options, understanding that mental
health is different for everyone and recognizing that it affects employees both
in and out of the workplace. Digital media company Axios, a Justworks customer,
acknowledges that mental health is intertwined with work-life balance, according
to Dominique Taylor, its chief people officer.

“Axios designed holistic benefits that support employees in all aspects of their
lives,” Taylor shared. Its team utilizes the suite of mental health products and
online counseling platforms provided by Justworks and supplement these with
additional creative benefits for personal wellbeing outside of the “office,”
including quarterly mental health days, work-from-home stipends, virtual
employee mental health events, and a family fund for unexpected financial
emergencies.

To help employees on their mental health journey, many companies now offer
subscriptions to mental wellness apps such as Talkspace, Headspace and Calm.
These online apps make accessing mental health programming easier and some, like
Talkspace, even offer direct access to online counseling and therapy services.

The mental health crisis, unfortunately, will not wane any time soon. But
addressing the issue of mental health and implementing programming in the
workplaces shows employees they are supported at all stages of their mental
health journey.

Camilla Velasquez
SVP of Product , Justworks
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Employee benefits Mental Health
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