The Big I Virginia Summer 2022

ICUMI - ROUGH NOTES
“We can substitute the word ‘abuse’ for ‘misuse.’ Nobody
wants to think that they are ‘abusing substances,’ but we
have seen an increase in alcohol consumption during the
pandemic. It might be easier for someone to say, ‘maybe I
have been misusing alcohol.’”
In addition, The Hartford’s 2021 Future of Benefits report
notes that its non-profit partner, the National Association on
Mental Illness (NAMI), suggests avoiding the terms “suffer,”
“disorder” or “afflicted.” Consider using “treatment plan of
my choice” or “what works for me.”
In fact, the perfect slogan for taking care of mental health
care needs—in contrast with physical health care—could
well be “What works for me.” The human mind and the
emotions that make up a person are unique.
Accessing help
When mental health needs call for therapy, the cost and
access to therapists can be an obstacle. In a recent survey
of workers in various industries, Mercer provided a list of
mental health care solutions and asked the workers to rate
those they would most value from their employer. The
leading response (49%) was “a program that reduces the
cost of mental health treatment (including therapy and
medication).”
Online treatment of mental health, which can reduce
costs and improve access to care, has gained momentum
during the pandemic, along with telemedicine for physical
health. The Mercer survey reported that 42% of employees
expressed a preference for “virtual mental health counseling
to manage anxiety, sadness or personal relationship issues.”
The survey participants also said they value “virtual support
groups for those who are feeling alone and isolated” (39%)
and “tools that provide training on how to identify and
support others facing mental health challenges” (38%).
Just realizing that there could be insurance coverage
available can be important. A recent research report by
Swiss Re notes, “Mental health cover is available as part of
disability and medical insurance policies; even critical illness
typically covers severe mental health conditions.” Yet, Swiss
Re found that among the workers that the report identified
as most interested in receiving mental health support in the
workplace, 71% were unaware of policies offering coverage
for negative mental health episodes.
Work in progress
It could be comforting to an individual puzzling over whether
they should seek mental health care to realize that there is
a wide continuum of possible mental health needs, some of
which can be categorized as “preventative.” The Swiss Re
study found that almost half of those who were interested
in receiving mental health support (46%) consider-ed their
mental health to be “good” or “very good.”
Unum recently introduced to employers a behavioral health
solution in which a worker can enroll in one of three paths,
depending upon a guided assessment of their mental health
needs. One of those paths, as described by Unum, is a “selfguided
program” for those with “low levels of stress.” The
content in this path is designed to help “identify triggers
and opportunities for combatting stress as they build their
own wellness action plan.”
As more people begin to think of mental health care—like
physical health care—as something to approach in a proactive,
“preventative maintenance” way, we could be one
step closer to eliminating the stigma and normalizing the
mental health conversation.
Regardless of the type of mental health support an individual
may need, getting past the initial hurdle of reaching out for
some kind of help may be the hardest. That is where agents
and brokers, in their everyday roles as a mentor, boss,
colleague, parent or friend, may be the most important
contributor to someone’s mental health.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The Hartford
thehartford.com
National Alliance on Mental Illness
nami.org
NFL Mental Health Awareness
nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/health-and-wellness/
mental-health/
Swiss Re
swissre.com
University of Vermont Health Network
medcenterblog.uvmhealth.org/category/behavioral-andmental-health/
Unum Insurance
unum.com
Thomas A. McCoy, CLU, is an Indiana-based freelance
insurance writer
Reprinted from the March 2022 issue of Rough Notes
magazine with permission.
30 THE BIG I VIRGINIA SUMMER 2022