Dr. Greg Carnevale is the Chief Medical Officer at UnitedHealthcare of New Jersey. –
Mental health challenges continue to grow and can have a significant impact on employees1. According to new data from America’s Health Rankings, nearly 13.8 percent of adults in New Jersey reported experiencing frequent mental distress in 20242.
To focus on just one condition, 40 million American adults suffer from anxiety disorders that can impact quality of life both inside and outside the office3, and anxiety is now the No. 1 mental health issue among American workers4.
Workload and working long hours can have a negative impact on overall mental health, happiness, and well-being, according to the American Psychological Association5.
Supporting Employee Mental Health Needs
Surveys show that employees overwhelmingly believe support for mental health at work is important. In fact, 92 percent of workers said it is very or somewhat important to them to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological well-being5.
Having affordable mental health care is, therefore, crucial to promoting well-being and a positive employee experience.
Offering employees modernized health plans can help the workforce more readily access needed services to support their overall health, well-being and experience.
Modernized Health Plans Offer Better Access
The Surest health plan from UnitedHealthcare gives employees the tools to search for mental health care through an easy-to-use digital shopping experience that can help improve access and lower the total cost of care.
Surest eliminates deductibles and coinsurance. Instead, members have copays that vary based on the provider and facility, with higher-value options costing less. Providers are evaluated on how they have performed historically on certain criteria like effectiveness and cost efficiency.
Recent studies found the Surest model lowered consumer out-of-pocket costs by 54 percent. For employers, total cost per member per month was 11 percent lower with Surest6.
Women who choose Surest paid 88 percent less for anxiety-related provider visits and 82 percent less for depression-related visits compared to members on a conventional health plan, according to one recent study7.
Data also shows that Surest members interact with the health system more frequently when they need care, including 20 percent more physician visits, a 9 percent increase in preventive physical exams, a 15 percent increase in preventive mammograms and a 34 percent increase in preventive colonoscopies6. They also tended to opt for better provider options with 92 percent of members selecting high efficiency providers6.
Digital Resources Offer Support and Convenience
Studies show that Surest members also have improved access to care. Eligible Surest members can now access digital tools such as Calm Health, as a part of their mental health benefits.
Calm Health offers an entry point for eligible Surest members to connect with personalized resources to help support their mental health in-the-moment or as a supplement to engagement with a licensed professional.
Calm Health is an evidence-based mental health app, designed to help members access personalized mental health support, including mental health screenings, therapy referrals, personalized programs and daily self-care content.
By offering more modern health plans and digital resources, employers can enhance their employees’ access to mental health care. These types of resources reduce out-of-pocket costs, improve health outcomes and can help create a more engaged, productive and satisfied workforce.
1 Anxiety & Depression Association of America, 2021, https://adaa.org/workplace-stress-anxiety-disorders-survey
2 America’s Health Rankings, 2024, https://assets.americashealthrankings.org/app/uploads/allstatesummaries-ahr24.pdf
3 Anxiety & Depression Association of America, 2022, https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
4 Forbes, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2024/03/27/anxiety-skyrockets-to-no-1-issue-among-american-workers-new-study-shows
5 American Psychological Association, 2023, https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america/2023-workplace-health-well-being
6 Surest Impact Study, https://www.surest.com/performance/impact 7 Surest Women’s Health, https://www.surest.com/performance/womens-health
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ROI-NJ.
