Lyra Workforce Mental Health Forecast: Benefits Leaders Report Rising Mental Health Care Claims for Children, Teens, and Severe Mental Health Needs

December 12, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST

81% of employers express concerns about increasing levels of serious mental health needs like substance use disorder and suicidality

Lyra Health, the leading provider of innovative Workforce Mental Health solutions for employers, today announced early findings from its 2025 Workforce Mental Health Trends Forecast. The fifth annual study revealed that 81% of benefits leaders are increasingly concerned about the rising levels of serious mental health care needs in their company. This growing concern is part of a broader trend in which employers are grappling with escalating health care claims, largely driven by a small portion of employees and dependents with complex, high-cost conditions.

Rising Health Care Claims for Children, Teens, and Serious Mental Health Needs

The research found that nearly half of benefits leaders reported an increase in health care claims for children and teen mental health and serious mental health care, including care for substance use disorder and suicidality. The increase is partly driven by a lack of access to adequate mental health care, including specialists and specialty programs. According to the study, 82% of benefits leaders believe their employees struggle to find quality care for themselves or their immediate family members through their traditional Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

“Mild and moderate issues like stress and anxiety, especially when chronic or left untreated, can escalate into more complex or co-occurring mental health conditions, such as substance use disorder (SUD), depression, and suicidality,” said Dr. Alethea Varra, senior vice president, clinical care, Lyra Health. “There’s an overwhelming demand for care right now, yet the provider shortages and lack of quality mental health care make it difficult for struggling individuals to find timely and appropriate support—leading to more frequent, intensive, and costly interventions down the line.”

A comprehensive approach to mental health care to address the full spectrum of needs of employees and their families is essential. By providing access to high-quality, evidence-based care, including outpatient services, inpatient care, and preventive programs, employers can improve employee well-being and reduce long-term costs.

Workforce and Organizational Well-Being Impacted by Macro Economic Climate

The challenging macro conditions are creating a ripple effect that impacts both employers and employees. As economic uncertainty grows, employees face rising financial burdens like medical bills and living costs. Lyra found that 39% of benefits leaders cite financial stress as a leading driver impacting their workforce’s mental health in the past year—more than double from last year. With pressure mounting, 92% of benefits leaders are calling for additional support to address non-medical needs that impact employee mental health, such as housing, financial stability, and food security.

Maintaining competitiveness while managing bottom lines means higher expectations and heavier workloads have become significant concerns, with 40% of benefits leaders identifying excessive workload as the number one work-related factor negatively impacting employee mental health. The surge has led to a notable increase in work-related stress and burnout, with 34% of benefits leaders identifying these as major concerns—up from 24% in 2023.

"Job stressors often exceed what individuals can manage alone, leading to poor workforce well-being and costing employers through higher disability claims, health care expenses, lost productivity, and turnover," said Dr. Joe Grasso, vice president of workforce transformation at Lyra Health. "Employers can curb the human and economic toll of this stress by tackling it at the source: rethinking policies, management practices, and workflows to create healthier, more sustainable systems for work."

2025 Workforce Mental Health Trends Forecast Additional Findings

The report analyzes responses from more than 500 HR and benefits leaders at organizations in the U.S. with global workforces to predict the trends that will shape workforce mental health in 2025. Additional findings include:

50% of benefits leaders reported that stress and anxiety are the top mental health challenges their employees experienced in the past 12 months
74% of benefits leaders reported employees struggle to find specialists to treat serious needs through health plans or EAPs
1 in 5 benefits leaders identified addressing serious mental illness as a key focus for their mental health strategies in 2025

For more information about Lyra Health’s Workforce Mental Health benefits for employers, visit lyrahealth.com.

About Lyra Health

Lyra Health is the leading provider of Workforce Mental Health benefits, available to more than 17 million people globally. Lyra is transforming access to life-changing mental health care using AI-powered provider matching, personalized support, and a digital platform to deliver evidence-based support for individuals and teams. Lyra quickly connects members to the largest dedicated global network of evidenced-based mental health providers and well-being tools, to address every mental health need and deliver outstanding positive outcomes that are equitable across diverse racial and ethnic groups. Extensive peer-reviewed published research confirms Lyra’s transformative care model helps people recover twice as fast and a 26% reduction in overall health care claims costs for participants annually. For more information about Lyra Health’s Workforce Mental Health benefits for employers, visit lyrahealth.com.