Although employers have made significant investments in the health care of their employees, there are still “clear disparities” when it comes to access and outcomes, according to a recent report from Morgan Healtha JPMorgan business unit focused on employer-sponsored insurance.
The report is based on 2021 data from three nationally representative surveys: the National Health Interview Survey, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the National System of Vital Statistics.
Its findings include:
- Lower-income people with employer-sponsored insurance are less likely to have a usual source of care and more likely to receive care from the emergency department. In addition, lower-income patients also had a greater burden of health care costs and were less likely to receive preventive care.
- Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people with insurance through their employer have greater mental health needs, with 18.8% experiencing severe psychological distress compared to 4.1% of heterosexual people. However, LGB people are more likely to seek help: 37.6% have seen a doctor about their feelings, compared to 23.1% of heterosexuals.
- Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians with employer-sponsored insurance have better rates of mental health than white individuals, including lower prevalence of major psychological distress and depression. However, Asian depressed individuals were four times less likely to receive treatment than white depressed individuals.
- Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians with employer-sponsored insurance “interacted with their health care with varying levels of affordability and notable gaps in preventive care.” Asians had fewer financial barriers to care than other races, but had mixed rates of preventive care use. Hispanics had a lower financial burden of care, but used less preventive health care. Black individuals report greater difficulty paying for medical care, but have higher rates of preventive care.
- Black and Hispanic mothers with employer-sponsored insurance had much higher cesarean rates than other races. Specifically, for low-risk pregnancies, black, Hispanic, and Asian individuals had higher cesarean rates than white mothers.
Morgan Health made this report because employers are in a position to help close these gaps, according to Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health.
“Employers have a responsibility to understand the nature of the gaps that exist in the marketplace and work proactively to correct them,” Mendelson said in an interview. “Employers pay for that care and are in a leveraged position as a result.”
The report also lays out several recommendations for employers, including creating financial incentives for lower-income employees to access preventive care and for LGB individuals to access mental health care. Morgan Health also recommended offering personalized preventive care services to diverse cultures and populations within their employee base.
Additionally, employers can use employee resource groups to engage more employees and connect them to needed care. They should also add doula and midwifery services to their maternal healthcare offerings. Finally, they can post quality results for providers on the web.
“What we’re trying to do is find practical solutions that employers can adopt without spending a lot [amount]Mendelsohn said. “Most employers are not in the healthcare field. They want to run their business and they work through an insurance company and they either don’t have the time or the expertise to get really deep into it. Most employers also care about racial equality and want to do things that support those goals, so I’d say the goal for us is to find practical things that employers can do.
Photo: PeterPencil, Getty Images
