WESTEND61 / GETTY IMAGEs

Employers Are Concerned About Covering Workers’ Mental Health Needs, Survey Finds

Nearly half of large employers report that increasing numbers of their workers were using mental health services, according to a KFF annual employer survey. Yet almost a third of those employers said their health plan’s network didn’t have enough behavioral health care providers for employees to have timely access to the care they need.

Almost three years after the covid-19 pandemic upended workplaces, mental health coverage remains a priority for employers, according to an annual employer survey fielded by KFF.

Nearly half of surveyed large employers — those with at least 200 workers — reported that a growing share of their workers were using mental health services. Yet almost a third of that group said their health plan’s network didn’t have enough behavioral health care providers for employees to have timely access to the care they need.

As millions of employees were sent away from shuttered office buildings to work from home or risked infection while working on the front lines, mental health problems soared. Now, even as many workplaces have returned to a semblance of “normal,” some workers are still grappling with the changes of the pandemic years and seeking mental health services.

Although 4 in 5 employers reported that they had enough primary care providers in their health plan’s network, only 44% of all employers reported they had enough behavioral health providers, according to the KFF survey.

“That is the number that for me shows how bad access to mental health care providers is,” said Matthew Rae, associate director for the program on the health care marketplace at KFF. “That, in conjunction with the huge increase in demand for mental health services.”

The 2022 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey, released Oct. 27, analyzed the responses of a random sample of 2,188 employers with at least three employees.

Overall, the survey found that this year’s premiums for health care coverage were remarkably similar to last year’s. Annual premiums for family coverage are $22,463, on average, this year, compared with $22,221 last year. On average, workers this year are paying $6,106 toward those premiums, while employers pick up the rest of the tab.

For single coverage, workers are paying $1,327 out-of-pocket toward their premiums, which average $7,911 in total. Employers pay the remaining portion.

The relative stability in premiums stands in contrast to overall inflation, which has been 8% so far in 2022, and workers’ wages, which have risen 6.7%, according to KFF’s calculation — perhaps, the report suggested, because the annual premiums were finalized in fall 2021, before price increases were apparent.

That trend may not continue.

“Employers are already concerned about what they pay for health premiums, but this could be the calm before the storm, as recent inflation suggests that larger increases are imminent,” Drew Altman, KFF president and CEO, said in a news release accompanying the report. “Given the tight labor market and rising wages, it will be tough for employers to shift costs onto workers when costs spike.”

Among large employers, 14% said more employees were using services to treat substance use in 2022, although about half said they did not know whether there had been an increase, according to the survey.

Among all surveyed employers with 50 or more workers, 17% said they had also seen an increase in the number of workers who had requested leave for mental health conditions under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. That law allows certain employees at companies with 50 or more workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually without the risk of losing their jobs.

Although the use of telemedicine services has eased somewhat since early pandemic lockdowns, 90% of surveyed employers reported that they offered a plan that covers telemedicine services. More than half of large employers reported that telemedicine would be “very important” in enabling them to provide their workers with access to behavioral health services in the future. In contrast, only about a third of those employers said the same was true for providing access to primary care, while 24% said telemedicine would be “very important” in enabling them to provide access to specialty care.

Twenty-seven percent of large employers reported that this year they added mental health care providers to their plan’s network, either in person or through telemedicine.

In addition to covering mental and behavioral health care services, 81% of large firms said they have an employee assistance program for mental health services, while 44% said they offered employees mental health self-care apps.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

Subscribe to KHN's free Morning Briefing.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.