Most employers offer coverage for mental health services, but where they fall short is in tracking whether those benefits are working, according to a new survey.
The report, conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), found that 97% of employers offer mental health coverage and 67% offer coverage for substance abuse treatment. However, only 22% said they actively monitor whether employees are using the benefits.
In addition, there is a significant opportunity for employers to do more in tracking network adequacy, the study found. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said they receive details from vendors or collect data on provider-to-enrollee ratios, while 44% said they track employees' distance to providers and 48% said they monitor wait times.
Fewer than one-third (31%) said they collect data on out-of-network care use, which is a major barrier to behavioral health access, per the report.
The survey builds on research from the EBRI released in September that found people who receive mental health coverage through their employer are twice as likely to report challenges in accessing critical services.
Anna Bobb, executive director of the Path Forward Coalition, a mental healthcare access advocacy group that worked with the EBRI on both analyses, told Fierce Healthcare in an interview that while employers are largely providing effective coverage, "there's a much smaller number that are really measuring whether the benefits are driving timely, impactful care."
"Where there's a gap, there's an opportunity," Bobb said. "And what we think the opportunity is to really track what's working and then make changes if needs be."
The report also found there are notable gaps in the services that are covered under employers' mental health benefit packages. For example, 73% of those surveyed covered telehealth, and 62% covered counseling and therapy visits.
But notably fewer offered coverage for ongoing chronic needs (33%) or for culturally competent care (26%).
There is another gap in the number of employers who offer behavioral healthcare coverage and those that cover substance abuse treatment as well. This held true especially for virtual services, where 96% of employers said they offer telehealth for mental health but 58% offer it for substance abuse treatment.
Bobb added that many employers struggle in communicating with employees about their benefits, which can hinder their use of services that they may need or prevent early detection, which leads to better outcomes for patients.
She said some firms are training managers to recognize when employees may need help and are investing in outreach to improve employees' understanding of their benefits.
"Healthy and mentally well employees are productive employees, and so there's just an enormous business case for getting engaged early and promoting strong mental well-being," Bobb said.