Castlight Health Offers Its Behavioral Health Solution Free to Customers During COVID-19
Jun 29, 2020
New Offer Helps Employers Meet Accelerated Demand for Behavioral Health Support as Pandemic Continues
SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, 2020 — Castlight Health, Inc. (NYSE: CSLT) today announced the availability of its behavioral health solution to help employees easily access and navigate behavioral health support and resources amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The newly enhanced offering, Castlight Behavioral Health, is now available to all customers on the company’s flagship platform, Castlight Complete, in response to the growing behavioral health crisis impacting employers and the increased demand for resources by employees.
While the negative impact of COVID-19 on physical health is well documented, the pandemic has also created a behavioral health crisis. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll, 45% of Americans state that COVID-19 has had an impact on their mental health. And based on a survey by the Business Group on Health, more than a quarter of employees stated they want more mental health support from their employer. Now, more than ever, employers are faced with the challenge of managing and supporting a workforce simultaneously strained by ongoing physical, financial, and emotional stressors.
“The effects of social isolation, challenges accessing health care, and financial issues due to COVID-19 and the associated economic crisis are driving new levels of anxiety, depression, and substance misuse,” said Dr. Dena Bravata, Chief Medical Officer at Castlight Health. “Employers across the country are balancing the need to safely return their employees to the workplace while also addressing the behavioral wellbeing of a strained workforce.”
Castlight Behavioral Health removes the common barriers to care—stigma, awareness, access, and cost—that prevent employees from receiving the behavioral health and wellbeing support they need as they navigate new challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stigma – Confidential Resources for Employees to Take Action
Stigma is a leading barrier to employees seeking help, as ordinary concerns over embarrassment or disapproval are magnified by the professional relationship with an employer. Despite this, Castlight data show employee utilization of its behavioral health resources has increased by 14% since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with psychological and psychiatric care now the third highest search term on its platform and many users reporting symptoms of stress, anxiety, and insomnia. Castlight Behavioral Health lowers the hurdle to care by enabling employees to access personalized guidance and resources discreetly, and, where needed, by directing patients to primary care providers with relevant behavioral health experience, avoiding the potential stigma of visiting a behavioral health provider.
Awareness – Making it Easy to Understand Care Options
It can be confusing for an employee seeking behavioral health support to determine which care options are personally relevant for their own specific needs. Castlight deploys industry-leading personalization via a comprehensive data set—claims, demographics, user goals, and in-app activity—and predictive capabilities to help deliver the right resources for that individual. This allows proactive, targeted communication directly to employees to help ensure they are aware of the solutions most relevant to them. This highly personalized guidance is especially important for vulnerable populations, such as employees at higher risk due to underlying health conditions, those missing preventative services, frequent users of emergency room visits, or those living in high-density population areas impacted by COVID-19. Castlight Care Guides are also available to provide human-led navigation to address any anxiety or concerns.
Access – Availability of Immediate Support
Numerous reports, including those from a National Council for Behavioral Health and Cohens Veterans Network study, suggest that Americans on average must wait between three and 13 weeks to see a mental health professional. With Castlight’s integrated provider directory, individuals can quickly and easily compare care options including behavioral health specialists, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers, and telehealth services to identify the provider who is best for them or their family. Employees can immediately access care within the mobile app by clicking to initiate a teletherapy visit or calling their EAP.
Cost – Optimized, Affordable Care
Castlight data show that the average annual medical cost for an individual with a behavioral health condition is $8,800—compared to $3,800 for those without. Cost is a key concern for individuals during COVID-19, when employees may be experiencing financial burdens as well as increased anxiety resulting from the economic downturn. Castlight leverages the more than 3 billion data points powering its platform to match employees with the lowest cost, highest-quality behavioral health providers best suited for their individual needs. By easing navigation to in-network, free EAP or cCBT options, Castlight can help ensure access to the most cost effective course of therapy.
Employers interested in this solution can reach out to [email protected] for more information.
About Castlight Health
Castlight is on a mission to make it as easy as humanly possible for its users to navigate the healthcare system and live happier, healthier, more productive lives. Our health navigation platform connects hundreds of health vendors, benefits resources, and plan designs into one comprehensive health and wellbeing experience. We guide individuals—based on their unique profile—to the best resources available to them, whether they are healthy, chronically ill, or actively seeking medical care. Castlight transforms the employee benefit experience into a deeply personalized, yet simple, guided one, empowering better-informed patient decisions to unlock better healthcare outcomes and maximizing return on healthcare investments.
Castlight, Castlight Health, and the Castlight logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Castlight Health, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved.
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For more information:
Courtney Lamie
[email protected]
(276) 492-4248
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