How to invest in the right mental health solutions — while keeping costs low

Mental health solutions are a vital part of any benefit offering, but they can be expensive for organizations — leaving them to wonder if they're worth the price tag.  

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental health conditions in the United States, affecting more than one in five adults, according to a recent evaluation by the Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI). Digital health solutions have proven to vastly improve the outcomes of those conditions, though the challenge is ensuring that spending on those products doesn't exceed the budgets organizations have set.   

"Currently the pricing models [for certain solutions] are structured so that they have pretty high access fees that are charged for all employees — regardless of whether the employees are using the solution or not," says Caroline Pearson, the executive director at PHTI. "With the current pricing levels being what they are, they increase total costs for employers." 

Read more: What does it take to have mental health offerings that actually work?

There are three types of solutions available to organizations: Self-guided, which offer digital content that people can access anytime through apps or services; prescription digital therapeutics (PDT), which are FDA-cleared digital programs that require a prescription from a doctor or therapist; and blended care solutions, which have networks of virtual care teams that integrate therapy and digital content. Examples of these solutions include Talkspace, Modern Health, Lyra and Headspace. 

Most organizations opt for self-guided solutions because of their relatively low price points and because they're sold as supplements or replacements to elements of an EAP. Unlike the other two, employers only incur costs once the employee downloads the app or platform and even then, the estimated cost is approximately $2 per member per month or less. In comparison, even though it's the most effective option, blended care solutions can cost up to $6 per member per month across the whole membership plan. 

"These are solutions that have both self-guided content libraries and teams of therapy providers," Pearson says. "They have the strongest clinical benefits, appear to have the highest levels of engagement and they can reduce health spending for people who use the tools. But if you've only got only 10-15% of employees that end up engaging with that tool, that high access fee remains the same for employers." 

Making mental health affordable for everyone

Still, there are a few strategies employers can rely on to bring costs down as much as possible. Pearson encourages employers to consider whether they really need both their EAP and the mental health solution they're looking to add. Most organizations are already spending around $2 per member per month on EAPs, so replacing one for the other could reduce the bottom line. She also urges employers to focus on increasing engagement to get the most out of the price they pay. 

Read more: What's the ROI of mental health benefits?

"The most important thing is to negotiate on price," Pearson says. "Employers can either try to get that per member per month price down to $4 or less, and they'll break even. They can also offer to devise a payment structure that's tied to how many people are using it, adding incentive to getting engagement from as many workers as possible." 

Employees' mental health needs are evolving, and the systems employers have in place have to evolve with them. This means turning to new strategies, even if it means a larger monetary investment. Otherwise, organizations are setting themselves up for the possibility that their workforce will leave for companies that are partnering with newer, more comprehensive solutions. 

"Employers are very concerned about employee mental health because it's been made clear that we haven't been supporting this area for a long time," Pearson says. "There's a huge potential and these are effective solutions that are scalable — employers just need to think about how to deploy them."