After 20 years at the Department of Labor as a leading ERISA attorney, Elena Lynett joined benefits and HR consulting firm Segal. Now, as VP and senior health compliance consultant, she's sharing her expertise with clients and helping them (as well as the Segal community) prioritize mental health and substance use support.
"Whether it was the opioid epidemic or COVID-19, there have been cultural events that sort of started to put the spotlight on mental health and substance use disorders," says Lynett, who leads Segal's own mental health and substance use disorder workgroup.
The adviser and executive spoke to EBN about wins and challenges of the past year, and the importance of helping expand your understanding of health plans and her trajectory for the future.
What's your biggest win this year?
The tremendous interest from employers and plan sponsors are taking in supporting the mental health and substance use disorder needs of their populations. There's really been a true evolution and understanding about these issues and employers' and plan sponsors' openness to doing more to help. It's a shift I've seen in the environment.
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You've dedicated so much of your work at Segal to these policies. Why is this something you're championing?
We know that there is a nexus between physical and mental health, and that supporting that inner relationship is important [at the health plan level]. When these issues are addressed you see positive things like less absenteeism and longer turnover rates. In terms of overall productivity, it's positive and meaningful.
What are your goals for 2023?
Personally, I'd like to go to Italy! Professionally — this probably sounds like a silly answer because everybody deals with this at every level of their career — how can we stay more organized? How can we streamline things in the best way, where we're always maximizing what we can do?
