For most people, spring brings budding flowers and warmer days. For Ellis, it brought a feeling of dread. Growing up in New Orleans, he even had to stop playing football because he would break out in hives with intense activity during the spring and summer months. And when he moved to Texas in 2016 for college, things didn’t get better.
For 40 years, Andrea Wichman has shown up for her employer, Baylor Scott & White Health. As a member of the payroll and travel departments, she's the kind of person who gets things done—someone who once powered through her days fueled by seven cups of coffee and sheer determination.
Talk to enough HR and benefits leaders and the same frustration resurfaces. They've done everything right: researched the programs, negotiated the contracts, run the open enrollment campaign. And the utilization numbers still don't move.
Right now, there’s an employee somewhere sitting on the couch at 10:30 pm with worsening symptoms, frantically typing "should I go to the ER" into a search bar. Their doctor's office closed hours ago. They don't know whether what they're feeling is emergent, urgent or can wait days, and they have no easy way to tell. Because they've been left to navigate this decision without any real guidance, the choice they make in the next twenty minutes will likely result in entirely avoidable costs for both them and their employer.
Most new moms don't think they're depressed. They think they're tired. They think this is just what it feels like now, and that they should push through it. So they do. Back to work, back to meetings, back to performing normally, while quietly struggling with something that never got caught because nobody was looking for it. When the benefits structure doesn't match the reality of what new moms are going through, this is what happens.
Mental health has earned its place at the top of the benefits conversation. Most employers recognize the need. But recognition and access are two different things, and for many employees, the gap between them is wide. For some employers, mental health support means an Employee Assistance Program. EAPs are a valuable part of the benefits ecosystem — they provide short-term counseling, crisis support, and referrals that help employees navigate difficult moments. But most are designed for short-term intervention, not ongoing support. For employees dealing with moderate anxiety or depression who need consistent support over time, an EAP is where the journey begins, not where it ends. The question for benefits leaders is what happens next and whether there's something in place to bridge that gap.
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