Aetna International iPMI EAPs
Aetna International has changed its employee assistance programme (EAP) to become a standard benefit across the majority of its international healthcare (iPMI) plans from 19 July.
The EAP is delivered by partner Work Place Options and gives members access to confidential counselling from behavioural health experts in over 200 countries worldwide. Support areas include improving family communication, harmony between work and home life, managing life changes, handling stress, surviving the loss of a loved one, managing anxiety and depression, dealing with workplace bullying and managing workplace pressure.
The service is available 24/7 in multiple languages and is accessible worldwide by phone, email or the web. Members can receive up to five sessions of counselling per issue per year either online, via the telephone or in person, depending on their plan level.
Comment: Aetna says that emotional health is a large factor in overall health and, for expats, this can be a pressing concern due to the additional challenges of working away from one’s home country. Moreover, without treatment, mental health concerns in particular can affect job performance, contribute to workplace accidents and increase staff turnover and absenteeism.
We agree and it is good to see Aetna International now including this EAP as standard on most of its plans. Insurers are still struggling both to make such ‘soft’ benefits key to people’s buying decisions and to get across that they care for their customers not just their money but not charging extra for such benefits is a good move. In practice too, present such benefits well enough and their perceived value should well exceed the actual cost of providing the benefit, while including it on all policies not only reduces unit cost but also minimises the risk of anti-selection.
Plus points: EAP now free on most of its iPMI policies; Delivered by a specialist partner; Up to five free counselling sessions per issue; Covers a wide range of emotional needs.
Not so plus points: Does not apply to all policies; Some may prefer such services to be delivered by the insurer rather than by a third party (but others may prefer the opposite!); Some limitation on number of counselling sessions and how they may be delivered (policy dependant).
Website: www.aetnainternational.com.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 7. Overall: 8. Gold