Why 2021 will be the year benefits packages leverage integrative care
While many employers started expanding their health and wellness offerings pre-coronavirus, they're focusing even more on integrative care programs in 2021.
The pandemic has accelerated many changes, including how employees get access to health care. Over 85% of millennials state they want an integrative approach to their overall health.
While many employers started expanding their health and wellness offerings to employees pre-coronavirus, companies are focusing even more on integrative care programs in 2021. Many employers I have talked to mention how burned out physically, emotionally and mentally their employees are due to the pandemic.
Related: Employers, employees feeling the strain of pandemic stress
It is essential for employers to invest more in innovative programs, give employees more access to care, encourage, and even incentivize them to use these resources. Employers need to be part of the solution. They need to care for their employees during a time like this. Robust health and wellness programs attract and retain talent, keep employees happy and motivated, and drive health care costs down over the short- and long-term.
Integrative wellness programs lead to healthier employees and company cost reduction
Integrative care is both a better treatment option for common conditions like MSK, sleep, and digestive issues and simultaneously addresses mental and behavioral health. Integrative care works by combining conventional and complementary treatments into a holistic approach to health care. At Goodpath, we deploy this across the four pillars of care: exercise, nutrition, mind-body, and supplements & medicine.
Multiple clinical studies of integrative care show not only an improvement in outcomes in the above conditions but a massive reduction in health care costs for employers.
● It leads to measurable individual results, with 4 out of 5 employees with less back pain and 4 out of 5 sleeping better.
● Integrative care can save up to $11k per year per employee with back pain by treating pain faster. This reduces the number of visits and appointments to doctors and specialists.
● It also leads to a significant reduction in pharmaceutical costs, up to 85% per employee per year.
An additional benefit of integrative health programs is their role in addressing behavioral health. Because integrative care focuses on the whole person instead of o a single modality of care, it incorporates treatment for stress, anxiety, and other underlying factors that can contribute to or worsen common health conditions. A Goodpath Employer Health Index study confirmed that the vast majority (almost 80%) of employees with insomnia also experience anxiety and depression symptoms. After an integrative sleep treatment program, members report a reduction in the use of pharmaceutical supports and significant improvement in their sleep efficiency.
Another reason why integrative care is so critical, as opposed to point solutions, is that it can treat a much larger share of an employee base. Point solutions only treat a subset of people with a specific condition. Integrative care solutions have seen a dramatic increase in adoption, because more employers find that integrative health is more appropriate for their employee base.
In 2021, comprehensive employer-sponsored wellness programs will be even more popular
The need for robust health and wellness programs will only continue to grow in 2021, even as the pandemic starts to recede. In a recent Goodpath Employer Health Index survey, over 80% of employers stated they are interested in adding more comprehensive wellness programs to their benefits portfolio.
Beyond adding on-site wellness programs like flu shots, on-site massages, or yoga classes, companies are expanding into mental and behavioral health options beyond Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) because they find EAPs are not enough.
As we move into a post-pandemic and increasingly hybrid working models, employers have to replace the on-site programs and provide more robust, remote options. Not only do employees feel more physical and mental strain, but they also expect better care.
Finding the right partners is vital. Employers looking to improve their wellness offerings need to approach this process holistically. They need to offer benefits programs that can address a majority of their population’s needs, are easy and engaging for employees, and are more than merely a digital version of conventional care.
Innovative health and wellness programs show better employee engagement
It is challenging to keep employees engaged with their covered benefits. In legacy benefits frameworks, most employees are confused with health care and typically do not enjoy their experience. It can feel a lot like running in circles, going to a primary care provider just to get a referral to a specialist while figuring out what is in-network or out-of-network. This constant run-around can cause employees to avoid their doctor. When they do that, they miss essential preventative care and ultimately increase overall employer costs when later on they require more costly interventions.
The best way to get employees to engage with benefits is simple, though not always easy. It comes from: 1. Listening to what employees want; and 2. Giving them that whenever and wherever they want. This means providing both digital and at-home options to access integrative care.
Responding to that employee request is critical not only to save costs but also to keep employees happy, productive and reduce absenteeism. A healthy and happy workforce leads to a more productive workforce, leading to better outcomes and retaining and attracting talent.
Integrative care will soon be the new normal
As 2021 comes, we will see more innovative employers shift to integrative care. It is one of the best medical approaches to treating common conditions. Employees love that it addresses their whole person and not only focuses on symptoms, and that it uses a multimodal approach as opposed to navigating complex or slow single-point solutions. With every employer we onboarded in 2020, we consistently receive feedback from benefits managers of how quickly their employees enroll in the program vs. other offerings.
Employers are quickly embracing an integrative or holistic approach to health. It provides a better experience for employees, saves employers money, and results in a happier, healthier workforce. A Deloitte report showed that companies with high health and wellness scores had a 75% greater stock appreciation over 6 years than the overall S&P. In less than 5 years, I predict an integrative approach to health will become the new normal to health and wellness benefits programs.
Bill Gianoukos is CEO and co-founder of Goodpath.
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