Guardian and Spring Health Partner to Provide Innovative Mental Wellness Benefits

New Offering Helps Companies Support Employee Mental and Emotional Well-being  

NEW YORK, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian®), a leading employee benefits provider, today announced the national launch of its partnership with Spring Health, a leader in mental healthcare. With the partnership, Guardian is offering its customers innovative benefits to support the mental and emotional well-being of employees and their families. The Guardian Spring Health plans, which provide access to mental health professionals and a wide range of solutions clinically proven to reduce recovery times, also help companies decrease employee turnover and increase productivity.¹

The new partnership and offering address critical needs: Nearly one in five adults in the U.S. (50 million people) are affected by a mental health condition.² Of those affected, more than half receive no treatment,³ and those who seek care can have difficulty getting timely help. With Spring Health benefits, the average time to get an appointment with a behavioral health specialist is less than two business days⁴ versus the national average of 25 days.⁵ 

"Mental health is an issue of prime concern for employees and companies alike, and the need to support employee well-being has become even more pronounced during the pandemic," said Chris Smith, Head of Group Benefits for Guardian Life. "This new employee benefit offering is designed to remove barriers to care that people often experience when seeking help for mental and emotional well-being, and it gives companies the opportunity to better support employees and their loved ones, which can help improve employee retention and productivity."

Spring Health offers resources to address a wide range of problems such as anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, sleep issues, relationship difficulties, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. Care plans include in-person and virtual appointments with licensed care providers, digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), coaching, mindfulness exercises, and more.

To increase access to mental wellness resources and improve treatment outcomes, Spring Health provides members with their own personalized care plan, developed through extensive research and machine-learning technology proven to reduce trial-and-error in mental healthcare. Members also have the assistance of a licensed mental health clinician who serves as their personal "Care Navigator" in addition to access to a diverse network of providers.

Guardian also is integrating Spring Health into its claim processes, beginning with Short-Term Disability (STD) claims. Guardian members with Spring Health and STD benefits will have an opportunity to receive claims-specific outreach during their STD journey, connecting them with meaningful mental wellness resources at a difficult time in their life.

"We are excited to partner with Guardian to expand Spring Health's reach so employees and their family members get the right care, at the right time," said April Koh, CEO, Spring Health. "With Spring Health's precision mental healthcare approach and personalized, compassionate care delivery, we deliver better outcomes so people feel better, faster."

Guardian is offering four plan designs that are unique to its partnership with Spring Health and were created to meet the needs of employees and businesses of various sizes. Organizations interested in offering Spring Health to their employees can learn more here.

Along with the national launch of its Spring Health partnership, Guardian is providing Spring Health benefits to U.S.-based Guardian employees, beginning in May. "By offering Spring Health to our own colleagues, we can both inspire well-being and differentiate ourselves as an employer providing these innovative and important benefits," said Chris Smith.

Every day, Guardian provides Americans the security they deserve through our insurance and wealth management products and services. Since our founding in 1860, our long-term view has helped our customers prepare for whatever life brings, whether starting a family, planning for the future, or taking care of employees. Today, we're a Fortune 250 mutual company and a leading provider of life, disability, dental, and other benefits for individuals, at the workplace and through government sponsored programs. The Guardian community of over 9,000 employees and our network of over 2,500 financial representatives is committed to serving with expertise when, where, and how our clients need us. Our commitments rest on a strong financial foundation, which at year-end 2021 included $10.7 billion in capital and $1.9 billion in operating income. For more information, please visit guardianlife.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. 

At Spring Health, we are making mental health fundamental by eliminating every barrier to care. Our comprehensive digital platform provides employers and health plans with diverse, inclusive care for individuals and families. Using clinically proven machine learning models, we accurately assess an individual's needs, and then our experienced care navigators guide the individual to the right care, whether it's coaching, meditation, therapy, medication, or more. Today, Spring Health serves over 150 companies, from start-ups to multinational Fortune 500 corporations, and is a preferred mental health provider to companies like General Mills, Bain, and Instacart. For more information, please visit www.springhealth.com.

Mental wellness benefits discussed herein are provided by Spring Care, Inc., d/b/a Spring Health ("Spring Health"), 251 Park Avenue, South, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10010. Spring Health is not an insurance benefit. Insured products are offered by The Guardian Life Insurance Company, New York, N.Y. ("Guardian") which has a financial interest in Spring Health. Spring Health may not be offered through Guardian in all states.

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¹ Spring Health proprietary research based on results from use of the Spring Health platform, May 2021
² The State of Mental Health in America Report, Mental Health America (MHA)
³ Ibid.
⁴ Spring Health proprietary research based on results from use of the Spring Health platform, May 2021
⁵ Psychiatry Advisor

SOURCE Guardian