New Four-Year Study: Lyra Health Delivers First and Only Sustained Medical Cost Reductions Due to Mental Health Benefit

May 15, 2024 at 08:00 AM EDT

New independent research from Aon shows Lyra mental health benefit reduces year-over-year annual health care claim costs

Lyra Health, the leading provider of innovative Workforce Mental Health solutions for employers, today announced the results of a mental health study from global professional services firm Aon, which found that employers offering Lyra's workforce mental health solutions saw an average annual health care cost reduction of 26%, sustained consistently over four years.

This longitudinal study validates sustained health plan cost reductions for a mental health benefit, highlighting the impact of Lyra’s quality-based approach. Unlike other mental health benefit providers, who often only look at six months of data and extrapolate findings, Lyra’s four-year study includes all members, not just those presenting with a mental health diagnosis for the first time. This comprehensive approach accounts for full and consistent seasonality to help benefits leaders budget with confidence. This predictability shows through in the study findings, highlighting how providing the highest-quality clinical care also results in driving down the total health care costs for employees.

“This landmark study demonstrates what Lyra has believed in from the start: The highest-quality care results in the strongest clinical and financial outcomes,” said Dr. Connie Chen, chief operating officer, Lyra Health. “By establishing our own evidence-based provider network and committing significant investments to clinical innovation and research, Lyra’s care not only helps people recover twice as fast with better and lasting improvement but also directly contributes to reducing medical and mental health spend. Our industry-leading clinical outcomes, supported by 16 clinical studies using actual patient data instead of estimations, demonstrate an 88% success rate, directly correlating patients’ quick recovery with significant and lasting annual cost reductions for employers.”

Key findings from the study:

The analyses show sustained health plan cost reductions four years in a row: Lyra demonstrates significant and sustained total health care cost reductions with a rigorous methodology, conducted by an independent company. Specifically, Lyra drove an average 26% reduction annually in employer health plan spending over four years for mental health, physical health, and pharmacy prescriptions.
Lyra delivers great value for families: Lyra provides timely access to pediatric mental health care specialists within a day, supporting the whole family with age-appropriate care. Most notably, accessing mental health care for kids and teens through traditional health plans can be challenging and expensive due to limited provider networks, long wait times for appointments, and out-of-network costs. This can result in delayed or inadequate care, impacting children and teens’ well-being and potentially leading to more severe mental health issues in the future.
Lyra helps prevent the need for intensive and expensive mental health treatment: Members using Lyra had fewer visits to the Emergency Department for mental health in all four years. Even during the pandemic’s peak, Lyra members had significantly lower prescription spending, saving 37% per year, and did not require as many mental health medications, despite having similar mental health diagnoses as the matched non-participants.

Aon conducted an independent actuarial analysis of Lyra customers in the technology, manufacturing, and consumer goods industries, with eligible populations totaling more than 30,000 employees, all of whom had implemented Lyra's workplace mental health solutions starting in 2018. Aon compared costs between two groups using their Cost Efficiency Measurement (CEM) methods: participants who used Lyra services and a control group of Lyra-eligible members who didn't use them. Both groups were matched for demographics, geography, and medical and mental health comorbidities. The analysis included adult members as well as their adult and child dependents under the age of 18. The report examines the cumulative impact of Lyra Health on cost reductions over four years until 2021.

"Our analysis delves into the cost reductions impact of workforce mental health solutions, revealing sustained year-over-year cost reductions for employers across industries,” said Ron Ozminkowski, senior vice president of commercial analytics at Aon. “The findings demonstrate significant reductions in professional mental health claims over four years, alongside consistent cost reductions in prescription drug spending per member per year.”

To learn more, download the full Aon report here.

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. Peer-reviewed published research confirms Lyra’s transformative care model helps people recover twice as fast and drives 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.