How to choose mental health benefits for a small business

When choosing a mental health benefit, focus on whether employees can reach the service and understand what it offers. Your role is to evaluate access and explain the benefit accurately. Decisions about who needs treatment and what care they receive belong outside benefits administration.

Have providers explain what they mean by “mental health support.” A resource list, coaching and appointments with licensed therapists are different offerings. Employees should be able to tell which service they are being offered.

Identify the service behind the label

Find out who delivers the service, their qualifications and the types of appointments available. If the program includes therapy, ask how it matches employees with an appropriate professional. Check psychiatric care and medication management separately; they and other treatments may fall outside a therapy offering.

Review exclusions and what happens when someone needs care beyond the program's capabilities. Ask how the provider explains those limits to the person seeking care. Benefit materials should also state that the service does not replace emergency care.

You do not have to assess treatment methods to administer the benefit. You do need enough detail to describe the service accurately.

Look closely at scheduling and continuity

Ask how appointments are booked and what availability information the vendor can support. A quick enrollment process does not establish how soon someone can see a clinician. Review appointment hours, rescheduling and missed-appointment rules, including what happens when a preferred provider is unavailable.

For ongoing care, find out whether an employee can continue with the same professional and what could interrupt that arrangement. Check service availability in employees' states, along with language support and accessibility.

Some mental health care can be delivered virtually, but employees still need a suitable place for an appointment. A workstation with little privacy may not be appropriate, even if the appointment fits into a break. (Source: HHS)

Make the cost and limits understandable

Get employee costs and service limits in writing. Does the price include appointments? How many, and which services cost extra? Check dependent eligibility and charges separately.

Explain appointment limits and price changes before employees begin care. Ask what information and support the provider gives when included appointments end or someone needs a different level of care.

Compare the proposal with the mental health benefits employees already have. Identify the gap it would fill, especially if employees are already struggling to navigate existing services.

Keep privacy separate from administration

Ask what information the vendor shares with the employer and why. Eligibility and invoicing are administrative matters. Managers should not ask for clinical details to help someone enroll.

Use the provider's approved privacy explanation and make its privacy notice easy to find. Avoid promises about anonymity or confidentiality that go beyond the actual policies. Employees should also be able to take privacy questions directly to the provider.

Set limits on the administrator's role. They can resolve an invitation or billing issue without knowing why someone wants care. If you ask for feedback, keep it about access and usability, not diagnoses or treatment.

Introduce the option without putting people on the spot

Give the eligible workforce the same information about getting started privately, employee costs and service contacts. Employees should not have to tell a supervisor they intend to use therapy.

Managers need to know the benefit exists and where administrative questions belong. They should not be expected to recommend treatment or assess a colleague's condition. Keep instructions easy to find after launch so employees can use them without asking publicly.

Talk with LASO Health about WorkWell Therapy to explore options for your team. Review the current service, eligibility, appointment terms, employee costs and privacy information alongside your existing benefits.