Managing Behavioral Health Care: An Employer's Perspective

Employee life cycle events and behavioral health disorders impact productivity and well-being.Employers use wellness initiatives and employee assistance or work-family programs to help managethose factors that can distract employees from performing optimally. Employer-sponsored health benefitsare designed to protect employees from the catastrophic costs of illness. However, today’s plandesigners struggle with employee and employer affordability that does not compromise quality or effectiveness.In 1990, Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Mass., shifted its strategy from an indemnitymodel to a managed care model that uses health maintenance organizations. Comprehensivestandards are used to ensure the delivery of quality behavioral health care that is cost effective, is deliveredat the clinically appropriate levels, and uses a broad continuum of treatment approaches withmeasurable outcomes.