Amwell Survey Identifies Workers’ Top Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Benefits

July 11, 2023 at 09:05 AM EDT

Survey offers insights into how health plans and employers can circumvent these barriers

Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL), a leader in hybrid care enablement, released results of a survey that asked employed U.S. adults about their experience seeking behavioral health treatment and how these factors relate to their health plan and employer offerings. Key findings from the survey include:

85% of respondents do not use the mental health benefits available via their health plans; workers were confused about their benefits or were unsure how to access them.
53% of survey participants listed digital programs as their preferred method to self-manage mental health.
67% of respondents would be willing to use wellbeing or mental health benefits if they were digitally accessible.
50% decline in respondents utilizing in-person therapy since the beginning of the pandemic.
Over 80% of parents said mental health coverage for their children is even more important than for themselves.

“The pandemic placed mental health at the forefront of the national conversation and yet, there’s still an alarming number of people – approximately 50 million people – navigating mental health challenges without treatment or proper support,” said Ken Cahill, Amwell Chief Behavioral Health Officer. “The survey results demonstrate how health plan leaders can continue to support members: offer impactful benefits, and make mental health benefits personalized, digitally accessible and easy to understand. As more people seek hybrid care options that allow them to access treatment via multiple points and channels, flexibility and access will be critical to achieving a healthier population.”

According to Mental Health America, 50 million Americans are currently battling a mental health issue and yet 55% of those adults are not receiving treatment. The Amwell survey findings point to the fact that traditional mental health treatment options, such as in-person only therapy, do not sufficiently meet the needs of U.S. workers.

“This gap in care is due to personal and professional demands on busy lives; challenges around access, waiting lists, costs of care, and inflexibility of scheduling. A hybrid care platform that interweaves in-person, virtual and automated care is essential to enabling health plans to deliver a holistic healthcare experience and close the gaps highlighted by the survey,” said Cahill.

This survey was fielded by Regina Corso Consulting and sponsored by Amwell, which was recently recognized as a top company transforming healthcare with an inclusion in AVIA Marketplace’s 2023 Top Digital Therapeutics Companies Report. Of the 1,500 employed adults surveyed across the U.S., the group was representative of all ages, regions, races, and ethnicities, and types of work (white-, blue-, pink-collar) as detailed by the U.S. Census.

To view additional insights from this survey, read the full white paper here.

About Amwell

Amwell provides a leading hybrid care enablement platform in the United States and globally, connecting and enabling providers, insurers, patients, and innovators to deliver greater access to more affordable, higher quality care. Amwell believes that hybrid care delivery will transform healthcare. The company offers a single, comprehensive platform to support all digital health needs from urgent to acute and post-acute care, as well as chronic care management and healthy living. With nearly two decades of experience, Amwell powers the hybrid care of more than 55 health plans, which collectively represent more than 90 million covered lives, and many of the nation’s largest health systems, representing over 2,000 hospitals, have access to Amwell solutions. For more information, please visit https://business.amwell.com/.

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