Employers are uniquely positioned to enable and empower employees to get the mental health care, services, and support they need to achieve their best health – which in turn fuels higher productivity and performance and positions the organization for growth. By taking a deeper look at Evernorth Vitality Index research and health claims data, the Evernorth Research Institute identified five key findings and actionable insights for employers to positively influence workforce mental health and vitality.
1. Trends in mental health diagnoses show our current and future workforce are at risk
The prevalence of mental health diagnoses has dramatically increased among U.S. adults and young people over the last several years, according to an analysis of commercial health insurance claims data for 30 million adults ages 18-64 and 20 million young people under age 26.
In 2022, 4.9 million commercially insured adults ages 18-64 had a diagnosed mental health condition, revealing a 23% increase from 2018. The number of those with two or more diagnosed mental health conditions jumped 43% from 2018 to 2022. During this same period, the prevalence increased 28% among young people under age 26 for one diagnosis and 48% for those with two mental health diagnoses.
Five year trend: relative increase in behavioral health (BH) diagnoses from 2018-2022
Source: Evernorth Research Institute Mental Health Prevalence Claims Analysis, 2018-2022
Employer insight:
The persistent, growing mental health concerns in our current and future workforce demands attention, and employers are uniquely positioned to help. Employers can strengthen their approach to family behavioral health through care delivery strategies, customization, culture and community engagement.
2. How people perceive their mental health is highly correlated with their overall vitality
Examination of the Evernorth Vitality Index shows there is a strong correlation between mental health and vitality. Individuals with a diagnosed mental health condition had an average vitality score 10+ points lower than individuals without a diagnosis.
Beyond this, individuals who reported fair/poor mental health had an average vitality score nearly 30 points lower than those who reported positive mental health (48.1 vs. 76.9). Nearly 7 in 10 of them reported having a diagnosed mental health condition.
Employer insight:
Organizational culture and manager behavior are essential in developing a work environment that advances mental health and vitality.
3. When people receive mental health care when they need it, they report higher vitality
An Evernorth analysis found a significant negative impact on vitality when mental health counseling or therapy is delayed. Among individuals with a behavioral health condition, vitality scores are higher for those who receive treatment with no reported delay than those who reported a delay and received treatment or those who reported a delay and still did not get treatment.
Access to outpatient behavioral health therapy (OPBHT) and vitality scores
Source: Evernorth Supplementary Analysis among individuals diagnosed with a mental health condition, 2024
Employer insight:
Employers can take a multifaceted approach to ensuring employees have timely and affordable access to behavioral health care, starting with technology. Virtual care options can help people who struggle finding nearby in-person care, and there’s also an opportunity to use data to connect patients with the right provider, whether that’s a match in language or ethnicity, or a specialist. Another area of focus can be round-the-clock access. People sometimes need care outside traditional working hours, so offering 24/7/365 care allows people to get the care they need when they need it.
4. People with high health insurance literacy have higher vitality
Health insurance literacy is a person’s ability to understand health insurance terms and benefits policies, and how to navigate the health care system to get the care they need. People with high health insurance literacy have higher vitality and are also far more likely to report positive mental health than people with low health insurance literacy.
People with low health insurance literacy report experiencing negative mental health at approximately twice the rate of those with high health insurance literacy. For example, they are more likely to find themselves having difficulty working up the initiative to do something, having nothing to look forward to, getting agitated, or even feeling close to panic.
Self-reported health insurance (HI) literacy and mental health
Source: Vitality in America, 2023
Employer insight:
Despite the increase in mental health challenges, public awareness and employer investments, many workers are not proactively using the full spectrum of mental health benefits available to them. Employers can help close knowledge gaps and help people get the care they need for themselves and their families by not only offering benefits, but by promoting understanding and encouraging their use.
5. People with high health insurance literacy are more likely to feel supported by their employer
An analysis of the 2023 Vitality data shows workers with high health insurance literacy are significantly more likely than those with low health insurance literacy to say their employer makes them aware of health and wellness benefits and, importantly, encourages them to use those benefits. Employees who feel supported in their health and well-being at work are more likely to have high vitality, which means they can bring more optimism and positivity to work than employees with low vitality.
Self-reported health insurance (HI) literacy and benefits awareness
Source: Vitality in America, 2023
Employer insight:
Employers will see value in consistent communication about benefits and making it as easy as possible to locate resources. Building awareness and encouraging utilization drives greater ROI for underutilized benefits and programs, and importantly, cultivates a culture of health and vitality that fuels employee recruitment, retention, and productivity.
Employers are powerful enablers of mental health and vitality
The breadth of mental health challenges in the U.S. population, the relationship between mental health and vitality, and the importance of health literacy to benefits utilization underscore the critical role of employers to workforce health.
Comprehensive health benefits, education, navigation support and access to simplified care experiences empower employees to get the mental health care and services they need for themselves and their families. In fact, when an employer invests $1 in mental health care for employees, they may save double that amount on other expenses, like health care costs.
Evernorth Research Institute sources
1. Q1 2024 Evernorth Vitality Study: General population survey of 1,500+ U.S. adults. Weighted on Census % for Age x Gender, Race, Education, Income, Region. Sample was: 48% male, 52% female; 28% ages 18-34, 18% ages 35-44, 34% ages 45-64, and 19% 65 years or older; 61% White, 18% Hispanic, 12% Black, and 4% Asian.
2. 2023 Evernorth Vitality Study: General population survey of 10,000 U.S. adults. Weighted on Census % for Age x Gender and Employment based on Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sample was split about evenly between males (48%) and females (51%). Respondents were split representatively between the South (37%), West (24%), Midwest (21%) and Northeast (18%). 67% of respondents were white, 16% report Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin, 10% were Black, 4% were Asian and 3% were of other races. The majority, 61%, of respondents work for pay with most (83%) having one job. 89% had health insurance or health care coverage.
