Employee Assistance Plan &
Critical Incident Response
Services
HR Benefits August 2022
E
E
1 Background
Current vendor is MHN since 1994; contract to expire
December 31, 2022
Plan includes mental health counseling and work-life support services, critical incident services and training
5 sessions per incident per year for non-sworn employees and unlimited sessions for sworn employees and public safety dispatchers Premiums are paid by the City for benefited employees and their dependents, regardless of usage
2 What has changed in the Marketplace?
Counseling Benefits
Unlimited counseling sessions are no longer offered
Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Now legally required to be covered by health plans; it will no longer be under an EAP .
The EAP will offer assessment and counseling around substance use disorder and refer employees to their health plan for treatment options Types & Methods of Services
EAP providers are now offering life coaching in addition to mental health counseling, web-based portals, self-serve online resources such as self-assessments, and expanded digital networks which improve access to care and mobile applications 3 Results of RFP
Number of counseling sessions per incident per year:
8 sessions for non-sworn employees
20 sessions for sworn employees and public safety dispatchers Robust 1st Responder Program including curated 1st responder network of providers
BetterHelp – a mental health platform that provides online counseling and coaching through web-based interaction as well as phone and text communication
Mobile Application for easy access to EAP services
4 Recommendation and Cost
Concern to replace MHN effective January 1, 2023
Increased cost to the City for the proposed EAP
premiums for calendar year 2023 is $51,210
Critical Incident Response services will continue to
be billed on a fee-for-service basis
5 Questions
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