Mental Health For HR

This is an excerpt from our post on BioPsychoSocial.

If your choice of insurance company has few mental health providers, or your plan has such a high deductible that your employees can't afford to meet the out-of-pocket costs, having insurance isn't much different than not having insurance.


I’ve got great news for you! Your people are reaching out for professional help with their mental health issues!  Who knew?  Your very own employees have done their research, booked appointments, shown up, filled scripts, and established a treatment alliance with a professional who can help them. You have no idea how courageous your employees are, how ready they are to face and tackle their problems.  You would be amazed.  I know I am.


Unfortunately, I have bad news, too. Your mental health coverage stinks.  I know because I’ve seen your choices about health care in action.  When one of your employees is informed that their mental health care benefits are negligible to non-existent, I see all the courage I just described replaced by absolute despair.


I have seen employees with no coverage, skimpy coverage, and coverage outsourced to a separate "carve out" carrier who promises financial savings. I’ve seen really, really bad contracts from companies whose provider networks consist of a bunch of crickets. I’ve seen huge deductibles. To be fair, I've seen generous coverage, too—flex spending accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and employees whose care is covered 100%.  More and more, I see companies who so value mental and behavioral health that they pay an additional amount, above and beyond the medical coverage, to a liaison who makes sure their employees get care from an EAP or private provider.  I have hunted down and negotiated provider agreements, just so a single employee can afford to continue to build the relationship they have so hopefully begun.  But everyone has limits. You have invited me to some scary places, contract-wise, where I just will not go.


I know benefits are expensive, but if you strive too hard to save money on your employees' health insurance, it's possible that you're actually just wasting your money.  If your choice of insurance company has few mental health providers, or your plan has such a high deductible that your employees can't afford to meet the out-of-pocket costs, having insurance isn't much different than not having insurance. 

Learn more about us on our website Pondworks Psychiatry & Psychotherapy. Or learn more about the full offering of our services as a talk therapy expert, we offer counseling services in Austin TX