Behavioral Health
The Impact of COVID-19 and the Emerging Role of Virtual Health Solutions
The increasing prevalence of behavioral health issues continues to be a top concern for employers. Meeting the needs of your employees facing mental health challenges takes looking at the bigger picture in order to better treat the whole person. The critical first step is understanding the full scope of behavioral health conditions, their impact on your workforce, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is already factoring in.
1 IN 5
adults
experience a diagnosable mental illness in any given year — more than half will go untreated1
200M+
workdays missed
due to mental illness each year2
$16.8B
lost
in productivity due to mental illness each year2
A challenging time
As we continue adjusting to the new normal of COVID-19, it’s important to keep an eye on the effect this pandemic is having on behavioral health. With so many of us worried about not just the disease itself, but its effect on our ability to keep working, data shows that certain behaviors are on the rise since the outbreak began — especially among the younger generations.
27%
are very or extremely worried about the coronavirus
Millennials (37%) Boomers (22%)3
9%
report losing their job since the start of the pandemic
Gen Z (14%)
Millennials (13%)
Gen X (7%)
Boomers (6%)3
51%
report having a CDC-identified underlying condition that puts them at greater risk
Gen Z (39%)
Millennials (34%)
Behavioral change since the pandemic began
The pandemic is affecting us all, with 93% reporting at least one behavior change since the outbreak began.3 The good news is that virtual care has increased 1.6x since summer 2019, with half that growth from the COVID-19 pandemic.4
23%
used telehealth since the pandemic started
Millennials (30%) used telehealth 2x more than Boomers (15%)
8%
started speaking with a therapist, counselor, or mental health professional
Gen Z (17%)
Millennials (13%)
75%
of people with behavioral health conditions are continuing therapy services during COVID-193
We're Here for You
Breaking down barriers to better care
To improve their health and well-being, employees want easier access to behavioral care. A big part of the solution is virtual care — telehealth, behavioral therapy, digital tools, and apps. These tools help screen members for behavioral health conditions and offer personalized resources and treatment options. Virtual care is effective, provides multiple ways for members to connect with the right clinicians for their needs, and can sometimes help even more than traditional face-to-face sessions.
COVID-19 pushes digital wellness into the mainstream
Telehealth, remote visits with a health care provider through technology, has transformed from an emerging industry trend to best practice. In 2018, only 18% of doctors were using telehealth. Now that number is 48%. Despite its benefits, telehealth historically only accounts for a small fraction of total outpatient behavioral health visits here in Western New York.
As the COVID-19 pandemic causes new levels of stress and isolation (and makes it harder for those who need behavioral care to meet providers in person), telehealth and other digital tools can assist with treatment for milder cases of stress and help employees manage their mental health whenever and wherever they need it.
BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York has seen a major shift from in-office behavioral health treatment to telehealth-based treatment. Before March 2020, telehealth visits accounted for only half a percent of all mental health visits — but from March to June 2020, 62% of outpatient mental health appointments were telehealth. The dedicated behavioral health providers in the BlueCross BlueShield network rapidly adjusted so members could receive care during this uniquely difficult time.
Responding to an emerging need
Although telehealth is now readily available and effective, awareness of using it for behavioral health care remains low. After a recent member awareness campaign, BlueCross BlueShield experienced a 23% increase in use of its telemedicine service, Doctor on Demand®. Doctor on Demand offers video visits with board-certified US health care providers. From March to June 2020, BlueCross BlueShield also saw a year-over-year increase of 524% in video or phone behavioral health consultations.
BlueCross BlueShield care management programs are available remotely by phone or through our Wellframe® app, a free digital platform for communicating with a care manager, viewing educational content, getting medication reminders, and more.
BlueCross BlueShield also offers members myStrength, a fully self-guided digital behavioral health app from Livongo®. myStrength empowers users to combat anxiety, depression, chronic pain, sleep challenges, heightened stress and feelings of social isolation due to COVID-19, and overall mental health.
To reward quality mental health and substance-use disorder treatment, BlueCross BlueShield recently partnered with Value Network, a behavioral health care collaborative with more than 100 area providers, to create the region’s first behavioral health value-based payment agreement.
What the future holds for telehealth in a post-COVID world is unknown, but for the foreseeable future it’s a great option for those seeking behavioral health care.
For For questions or more information, please call 1-877-878-8785 (TTY 711) or contact your broker on your BlueCross BlueShield account executive.
Note: Boomers were born between 1944 and 1964 and are currently 56–76 years old (76 million in US). Gen X includes people born between 1965 and 1979 who are currently 41–55 years old (82 million people in US). Millennials were born between 1980 and 1994 and are currently 26–40 years old. Gen Z includes those born between 1995 and 2015 who are currently 5–25 years old (nearly 74 million in US)
1 Center for Workplace Mental Health, American Psychiatric Association Foundation, “Investing in a mentally healthy workforce is good for business,” 2020.
2 Kelly Greenwood, Vivek Bapat, Mike Maughan, “Research: People Want Their Employers to Talk About Mental Health,” Harvard Business Review, 2019.
3 Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, COVID-19 National Pulse Survey, 2020.
4 BCBSA National Generational Survey. 2019; BCBSA COVID-19 National Pulse Survey, 2020.
BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York is a division of HealthNow New York Inc., an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Doctor On Demand® is a separate company that provides telemedicine services to BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York members. Livongo® is a separate company.