A recent Centivo survey of employees with employer-sponsored health insurance asked respondents if they had incurred significant medical expenses in the past two years. The disturbing answer: more than one quarter (27%) who did say those expenses had a major impact on their mental health, while 16% indicated they had a major impact on their family’s well-being. These results come from a preliminary analysis of the Centivo Healthcare and Financial Sacrifices Survey, 2021. Centivo conducted the survey in August 2021 among 805 US adults ages 18-64 with employer-sponsored private health insurance.

These findings come at a time of intense interest and scrutiny from US employers surrounding mental health issues among workers. According to a 2021 Mercer survey, employers with 500 or more employees say that addressing employees’ mental and emotional health will be a top priority over the next 3-5 years. The Kaiser Family Foundation also found that four in 10 (39%) employers report making changes to their mental health and substance abuse benefits since the beginning of the pandemic.