Meru Health Partners with Wellspring EAP
SAN MATEO, Calif., April 13, 2021 GLOBE NEWSWIRE Meru Health, which provides the most comprehensive online mental health solution for depression, burnout, and anxiety, announced today that Wellspring Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a program of Wellspring Family Services, is now offering the Meru Health treatment program as an option to organizations looking to expand mental health access and provide clinically validated, online mental healthcare for their employees.
“At Wellspring EAP, our most pressing priorities relative to employee well-being are to reduce barriers to mental health care, accelerate the speed with which employees connect to mental health services, and make it easy to access care,” said Trisha Aldrich, Director of Wellspring EAP. “Throughout the pandemic, both the demand for mental health services and the challenges employees encountered in accessing it became even more pronounced. Meru Health is tackling the mental health crisis in our country and closing the provider gap through its highly scalable online program. Now Wellspring has another valuable tool in our toolkit to offer employers.”
Wellspring EAP works with employers to reduce turnover and improve productivity by providing services that strengthen and support their employees. For more than 30 years, Wellspring has delivered employee assistance programs to over 1,000 employers in a broad cross section of industries, including technology, professional service, nonprofit, and construction.
“Meru is partnering with major EAPs like Wellspring who are dedicated to giving clients access to innovative technology that will help employees be healthy and perform at their best both in life and at work,” Kristian Ranta, CEO and Founder of Meru Health, said. “Mental health needs to be urgently addressed given today’s healthcare crisis, which means more companies need to be offering access to services like Meru Health that have a direct impact on their employees’ health and well-being.”
Mental health challenges affect more than 500 million people globally. However, fewer than 50 percent of those who need it receive care. There are not enough therapists or other mental health providers in the market. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this mental health crisis, causing a spike in mental health problems with cases tripling in the number of adults experiencing depression.
Meru Health offers a highly scalable digital mental health solution, where one therapist working with Meru Health’s technology can treat five times the patient load than with standard therapy whether in telehealth or brick and mortar. Its comprehensive treatment program supports people in their own empowerment so that after treatment ends, the participants have the tools they need to stay well. Stanford, Harvard, and UC Davis validated research shows that Meru Health's solution is two to three times more effective than the standard of care in the U.S. today.
Better mental health can also reduce healthcare costs significantly for employers and payers. A Blue Cross Blue Shield study found that reducing depression and anxiety symptoms reduces healthcare costs by at least $6,390 per person per year and also improves worker productivity by about $4,000 per year – leading to an overall benefit of about more than $10,000 per person, per year.
Meru Health Partners with Unum and McLean Hospital
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., April 12, 2021 – Unum (NYSE: UNM), a leading provider of financial protection benefits in the U.S. and U.K., is collaborating with McLean Hospital and Meru Health to develop a holistic benefits solution focused on prevention to help employers support the behavioral health of employees.
Behavioral health challenges include stress, burnout, depression, anxiety and substance use disorders.
Unum Behavioral Health, available in May 2021, will include a web portal that will help workers navigate to the right preventative and early intervention support such as access to a licensed therapist, coach and a robust library of mental health resources. For companies and businesses, it helps normalize the conversation around mental health through executive education and training. It also leverages McLean Hospital’s expertise in mental health education and Meru Health’s therapeutic platform to sustain, restore, and maintain strong mental health.
Unum has seen a 20 percent year-over-year increase in mental health claims through its disability benefits, leave administration and return-to-work services.
“Our collaboration with McLean Hospital and Meru Health has positioned us to respond to an urgent need in the market for a comprehensive behavioral health solution for employers,” said Rick McKenney, President and CEO of Unum Group. “While there are many point solutions available, our long history of helping people through behavioral health challenges has led us to believe that a more robust approach is needed to focus on the whole lifecycle of employee mental wellbeing.”
McLean Hospital, a leader in psychiatric care, research, and education, develops educational content that reduces stigma, while increasing awareness among broad audiences about the impact mental health has on everyone.
“Now more than ever it is critical for employers to have the tools necessary to destigmatize mental illness, focus on sustaining wellbeing and help people overcome behavioral health challenges,” said Dr. Philip G. Levendusky, Director of Psychology at McLean Hospital, and Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “While COVID-19 has exacerbated and emphasized this need, it has always been there and continues to grow in importance.”
Meru Health, an online mental healthcare provider, offers a comprehensive digital solution for people struggling with depression, anxiety, burnout, and stress.
“We’re thrilled to provide the therapeutic core of this new solution, which will advance our goal of empowering 10 million people suffering mental health challenges by 2027,” said Kristian Ranta, CEO and Founder of Meru Health. “The workplace represents such a major part of people’s daily lives that integrating mental health care into the employee experience is essential.”
Unum will distribute the Behavioral Health solution as part of its growing suite of employer offerings.
Meru Health Partners with Moda Health
SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2021 GLOBE NEWSWIRE -- Meru Health, which provides the most comprehensive online mental health solution for depression, burnout, and anxiety, announced today that Moda Health, an Oregon-based health insurance company dedicated to building healthier communities, now is offering the Meru Health treatment program to its partners to help them meet the mental health needs of their employees.
Founded in 1955, Moda has 330,000 members in its medical plans and more than 1 million members in its stand-alone pharmacy segment. The company chose Meru to complement the suite of services it offers for outpatient and inpatient mental healthcare.
“We really liked the fact that Meru combined an innovative service delivery model with proven treatment approaches,” said Dan Thoma, Senior Manager of Behavioral Health at Moda. “Meru’s peer-reviewed research showed the effectiveness of the program, and because they track every patient’s progress in real-time, they can adjust their approach if a patient isn’t making progress. Especially since the pandemic, Meru’s ability to provide remote services to our members safely and comfortably in their own homes became a very important benefit for our partners.”
Mental health challenges impact more than 500 million people globally. A growing provider access problem endures. And the long-term outcomes of mental health care continue to disappoint. On average, only 26% of people respond to care within the first year. Furthermore, 50% of people who had their first episode will relapse into another episode within 2 years from the first episode.
Kristian Ranta, CEO and Founder of Meru Health, said, “Moda Health recognizes that part of building healthier communities means prioritizing mental health. With Meru, Moda’s partners get insight into the mental health baseline of their communities and aggregated reports on the treatment outcomes to keep them informed on how their communities’ wellbeing is improving. During this difficult time, it is critical for employees to have multiple ways to take care of their mental health, and we’re proud to offer a proven online option that gives Moda members immediate access to effective treatment.”
The Meru program length is optimized to 12 weeks during which the participant goes through a curriculum that helps them decrease their symptoms of depression and anxiety effectively. Stanford, Harvard, and UC Davis validated research shows that Meru Health's solution is two to three times more effective than the standard of care in the U.S. today.
About Meru Health
Meru Health is setting a new standard in mental healthcare with the most comprehensive online solution that combines licensed therapists and psychiatrists, a smartphone-based treatment program, a biofeedback wearable, and anonymous peer-support groups. The company is committed to evidence-based care and has published groundbreaking clinical outcomes with Stanford, Harvard, and UC Davis that demonstrate 2-3X better clinical effectiveness and longer lasting results versus the standard of care in the U.S. today. Meru Health partners with major health insurance providers like Cigna, Humana, and Moda Health, as well as leading businesses who want to provide best-in-class mental health care for their employees or members.
For more information, visit www.meruhealth.com