Karthik Ganesh, CEO of the pharmacy benefits manager EmpiRx, is challenging employers to expect more from their mental health benefits.
"Our country is in the throes of a mental health crisis that we are ill-equipped to manage," he wrote in an open letter. "This has created a monumental and still-intensifying financial burden for employers who, in our current health-care system, assume more than 80% of the cost of care on behalf of their employees. Sadly, the mental health tsunami has yet to crest, which is why business leaders must make big changes now or suffer catastrophic consequences."
The letter documented the cost of inaction:
- Employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% reduction in productivity and an average of 31 days of missed work per year.
- This absenteeism translates to $210.5 billion in annual lossesto the U.S. economy.
- Half of adults report a severe mental health crisis in their families, and one in five cites the inability to work or engage in other activitiesbecause of poor mental health.
"As an employer, you have a clear moral and financial obligation to address your employees' mental health needs," Ganesh said. "However, with a fixed pool of money available for employee health and wellness benefits, spiraling costs across all facets of health care impede your ability to do so."
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
