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Offering Coverage for Employee Mental Health

Among the many lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the impact on mental health. Months of isolation, coupled with anxiety about job security and physical health, followed by the economic stress from inflation and supply chain issues, have helped to fuel lingering mental health challenges for millions – including your employees.

In fact, while more than one in five Americans have diagnosable mental disorders at some point in their lives, only about half of them receive professional mental health treatment. One main reason – seeking access to such treatment – can be attributed to whether the person’s employer offers mental health benefits.

Under the Affordable Care Act, non-grandfathered health plans in the iCndividual and small group markets are required to cover mental and behavioral health treatments as one of the 10 essential health benefits. That means most fully insured group health plans sponsored by small employers (typically those with up to 50 employees) must include coverage for mental health benefits. Also, health plans must comply with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008, which prohibits group health plans (and health insurance issuers providing mental health and substance use disorder benefits) from imposing less favorable benefit limitations on those benefits than what they impose on surgical and medical care.

Beyond the legal and policy compliance considerations, however, providing adequate mental health benefits also makes economic sense. More employers have come to recognize that the cost of lost productivity due to employees suffering from mental health issues exceeds the cost of providing adequate mental health benefits coverage.

Options available to employers to help address these issues include:

  • Using Employee Assistance Programs to remove the stigma of mental health treatment and to help offset the cost of treatment, so that more employees seek help.
  • Making mental health screenings more widely and easily available to employees.
  • Offering employee education initiatives.
  • Enlisting the help of primary care physicians to bring mental health considerations into the overall picture of assessing employee health.

The U.S. Department of Labor has more information on mental health at www.dol.gov. You can also contact the Benefits team at Evergreen Insurance for more information and guidance on this important topic.

Copyright 2023 Evergreen Insurance

Evergreen Insurance provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

Cancer Prevention

February is National Cancer Prevention Month. Unfortunately, many people face cancer in their lifetime. Keeping your body healthy can help mitigate some of the risk factors. Click on the image to download or print the safety sheet.

7 Common Car Insurance Myths

Do you find the options in auto insurance confusing? With so much information available, especially on the internet, it can be difficult to know what the real facts are about auto policy options. Click on the image to download or print the fact sheet to learn the truth behind several common myths.

Buying Used Vehicles

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Essential Cybersecurity Controls for Organizations

Cyber incidents have become increasingly more common, and no business is immune to attacks. With the variety of threats your company can face, you may not know where to start when it comes to cyber protection. Click on the image to download or print the safety sheet for practical measures you can implement to secure your business.

CEO Awareness, Involvement Crucial in Cybersecurity

While it may be tempting to leave the complex, mysterious world of cybersecurity to “the experts,” business leaders cannot fall back on that handy escape hatch any longer. They need to be aware and involved, even to the point of elevating cyber reporting to the CEO directly. According to the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency*, here are some practical steps that leaders would be wise to follow:

CEOs should ask the following questions about potential cybersecurity threats:

  • How could cybersecurity threats affect the different functions of my business, including areas such as supply chain, public relations, finance, and human resources?
  • What type of critical information could be lost (e.g., trade secrets, customer data, research, personally identifiable information)?
  • How can my business create long-term resiliency to minimize our cybersecurity risks?
  • What kind of cyber threat information sharing does my business participate in? With whom does my business exchange this information?
  • What type of information sharing practices could my business adopt that would help foster community among the different cybersecurity groups where my business is a member?

What can CEOs do to mitigate cybersecurity threats?

  • Elevate cybersecurity risk management discussions to the company CEO and the leadership team. Executives should construct policy from the top down to ensure everyone is empowered to perform tasks related to reducing cybersecurity risk.
  • Implement industry standards and best practices rather than relying solely on compliance standards or certifications. Compliance standards and regulations (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) provide guidance on minimal requirements. Businesses should strive to go beyond the minimum, however.
  • Evaluate and manage organization-specific cybersecurity risks. Ask the questions necessary to understand your security planning, operations, and security-related goals.
  • Ensure cybersecurity risk metrics are meaningful and measurable. For example, reducing the days it takes to patch a vulnerability to directly limit risk to the organization.
  • Develop and exercise cybersecurity plans and procedures for incident response, business continuity, and disaster recovery. It is critical that organizations test their incident response plans across the whole organization, not just in the IT environment.
  • Retain a quality workforce. It is important to have people who can identify the proper tools for your organization, since new cybersecurity threats are constantly appearing.
  • Maintain situational awareness of cybersecurity threats. Subscribe to notifications on emerging cybersecurity threats (e.g., National Cyber Awareness System products, MITRE Common Vulnerability Exposures, CERT Coordination Center Vulnerability Notes) and subscribe to the Homeland Information Sharing Network.

Of course, making sure your cybersecurity insurance coverage is sufficient and current remains vitally important, as well. The professionals at Evergreen Insurance can help.

* https://www.cisa.gov/tips/st18-007

Copyright 2023 Evergreen Insurance

Evergreen Insurance provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

Teen Driver Safety Tips

Do you have a teen driver? January is Teen Driving Awareness Month. Teens are more likely to get in car accidents than any other age group. Take a few minutes to review a few safety tips with your child so they can stay safe behind the wheel. Click on the image to download or print the safety sheet.