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Mental health benefits that actually remove barriers: a better approach for employers

Read Time

8 Minutes

Written by

Team Curative

Published

May 27, 2026

Mental health support in the workplace has evolved far beyond meditation apps and awareness campaigns.

Today's employees are navigating burnout, stress, anxiety, caregiving responsibilities, financial pressure, and ongoing uncertainty — all while trying to stay productive. And employers are feeling the effects. Research consistently links mental health challenges to absenteeism, lost productivity, higher healthcare costs, and turnover.

According to a recent workplace mental health report, 61% of workers reported experiencing at least one mental health challenge, including burnout, anxiety, or depression. Employers who invest in mental health support can also see measurable business impact, with studies showing an average return of $4 for every $1 invested in mental health initiatives through improved productivity and reduced absenteeism.

But here's the reality many organizations are still facing: even when mental health benefits exist, employees often struggle to use them.

High deductibles, confusing coverage rules, provider access issues, and worries about cost can all become barriers to care.

That's why supporting employee mental health requires more than offering benefits. It requires removing friction from the healthcare experience altogether.

At Curative, we believe preventive care should include mental health — and accessing support shouldn't feel financially risky. Eligible members enrolled in Curative's preventive-first health plan can access $0 in-network mental health care from day one, with no copays or deductibles. Members simply complete a Baseline Visit within 120 days of enrollment to maintain those $0 benefits.

For employers, that means offering a plan designed to encourage employees to seek support earlier — before stress and mental health challenges escalate into larger health and productivity issues.

Mental health benefits that actually remove barriers: a better approach for employers

Why employees still aren't getting the mental health support they need

Many employers have expanded behavioral health benefits in recent years, yet utilization gaps remain.

Why? Because access doesn't always equal accessibility.

Employees frequently delay or avoid mental health care due to:

Concerns about out-of-pocket costs
Confusing health plan structures
Difficulty finding providers
Long wait times for appointments
Fear of surprise bills
Social stigma around seeking support
Lack of time or flexibility during the workday

For employees enrolled in high-deductible health plans, even an initial therapy appointment can feel financially uncertain.

In many cases, employees wait until stress, anxiety, sleep disruption, or burnout become severe before seeking help. Delayed care often turns into more expensive care.

That's where plan design matters.

Curative's plan is designed to simplify access by removing many of the financial barriers that discourage employees from engaging with healthcare early. Eligible members have:

$0 copays
$0 deductibles
$0 out-of-pocket costs for in-network care
Access to mental health and behavioral healthcare services

Members complete a Baseline Visit within 120 days of enrollment to maintain those $0 benefits. Curative also provides the Curative Cash Card, which simplifies provider payments for eligible services.

This preventive-first approach is built to encourage employees to engage with care proactively — including mental healthcare — instead of delaying because of cost.

7 practical ways employers can better support employee mental health

Mental health support is most effective when it becomes part of the broader employee experience — not a once-a-year initiative.

Here are seven practical ways employers can support workforce wellbeing year-round.

1. Normalize conversations around mental health

Employees are far more likely to seek support when workplace culture makes those conversations feel safe.

Managers and leaders play an important role in reducing stigma. Encouraging open communication, checking in regularly, and acknowledging stress as a normal human experience helps create a more supportive environment.

Training managers to recognize signs of burnout, chronic stress, or emotional distress also helps organizations intervene earlier. Even the best mental health benefits go underutilized when employees feel uncomfortable accessing them.

2. Remove financial barriers to care

One of the biggest reasons employees avoid therapy or behavioral healthcare is cost uncertainty.

Employees with high deductibles may delay care because they're unsure what services will cost or whether they can sustain ongoing treatment. That delay matters. Early mental health support helps employees better manage stress, anxiety, and sleep issues before they begin affecting work performance, physical health, or overall wellbeing.

That's why plan simplicity matters.

Curative's preventive-first model removes many of the traditional financial barriers built into healthcare. Eligible members can access in-network care — including mental healthcare — at $0 out-of-pocket cost.*

When employees know they can seek care without worrying about surprise bills or deductibles, they're more likely to engage with support earlier.

3. Make access simpler — not more complicated

Healthcare systems are often fragmented and difficult to navigate.

Employees may struggle to understand where to go for care, which providers are covered, or how to access behavioral health resources.

The more complicated the experience becomes, the less likely employees are to use available benefits.

Employers can help by prioritizing health plans and resources that simplify access to care.

Curative’s mental health support ecosystem includes partnerships designed to help eligible members access behavioral healthcare resources more efficiently, whether they are looking for therapy, virtual care options, or additional support tools.

This integrated approach can help employees spend less time navigating healthcare logistics and more time focusing on their wellbeing.

4. Encourage preventive care — not just crisis care

Mental health support should not begin only when employees are already overwhelmed.

Preventive healthcare includes mental and behavioral health, not just annual physicals.

Encouraging employees to engage with preventive care earlier can help identify health concerns, reduce barriers to support, and improve long-term outcomes.

For employers, engagement matters because preventive care participation often correlates with healthier, more supported employees over time.

“Preventive care should include mental health — not just annual physicals.”

5. Support work–life boundaries

Burnout isn't always a personal stress-management problem.

Often it's tied to workload expectations, unclear boundaries, lack of flexibility, or organizational culture. Employers can support wellbeing by:

Encouraging employees to take PTO
Promoting realistic workloads
Supporting flexible scheduling where possible
Respecting after-hours boundaries
Creating space for recovery

Mental health support can't live only inside a benefits portal. Workplace culture and operational expectations matter just as much.

6. Offer mental health resources employees will actually use

Stacking up disconnected resources doesn't improve engagement. Employees want mental health support that feels:

Accessible
Affordable
Convenient
Easy to understand
Simple to use

Integrated mental healthcare experiences are increasingly important. Curative's mental health offerings are designed to remove common barriers while supporting a more connected healthcare experience.

For employees balancing work, caregiving, family obligations, or demanding schedules, virtual and digital behavioral health options can make support more accessible.

7. Measure engagement — not just enrollment

Offering mental health benefits is only part of the equation. Employers should also evaluate whether employees are actually engaging with available resources.

Questions worth asking:

Are employees using preventive care services?
Are behavioral health resources easy to access?
Do employees understand their benefits?
Are cost concerns preventing care utilization?
Are healthcare experiences building frustration — or trust?

Engagement metrics provide real insight into whether a benefit strategy is supporting employee wellbeing.

The opportunity for employers: rethinking mental health benefits

Mental health support shouldn't feel separate from healthcare.

When employees avoid therapy, counseling, or behavioral health services because they're worried about cost or confused about coverage, employers eventually see the downstream impact — absenteeism, disengagement, turnover, and rising healthcare utilization.

That's why many organizations are rethinking what meaningful healthcare access actually looks like. Employees increasingly want healthcare experiences that are:

Easy to navigate
Affordable to use
Preventive-focused
Built around early intervention
Designed to reduce stress, not add to it

Curative's plan was built around those principles. Instead of relying on high deductibles and complicated cost-sharing, Curative focuses on preventive engagement and simplified access.

Curative mental health resources

Find in-network mental health providers

Curative members can use the Provider Search tool to find $0 in-network mental health providers — therapists, psychiatrists, and behavioral health professionals — reducing one of the most common frustrations employees face: uncertainty around coverage and provider access.

Curative Cash Card

Not every employee wants to switch providers when enrolling in a new health plan.

With the Curative Cash Card, eligible members can pay the cash-pay rate for approved healthcare services, including mental healthcare. Members who already have a preferred therapist or mental health provider who doesn't accept insurance — or isn't currently listed in Curative's Provider Search — can nominate them to become a Curative Cash Card provider.

This flexibility gives employees more options for accessing care and reduces the friction often associated with provider network limitations.

Learn more about our additional mental health resource partnerships on our mental health page.

Supporting employee mental health requires more than awareness

Mental Health Awareness Month is a useful moment to start important conversations.

But long-term employee wellbeing requires more than awareness campaigns. It requires healthcare experiences that make support easier to access, easier to afford, and easier to use.

For employers, that means thinking beyond traditional benefit structures and asking a more important question: are employees actually able to use the care available to them?

The most effective mental health strategies reduce friction, encourage preventive care, and remove barriers before employees reach a crisis point.

At Curative, we believe healthcare should support the whole person — including mental health.

Learn more about how Curative helps employers simplify access to preventive and mental healthcare through a plan designed around engagement, affordability, and proactive care.

References

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
American Psychological Association
World Health Organization workplace mental health research
Peer-reviewed studies on employer ROI and mental health investment
Harvard Business Review workplace burnout research
Mind Share Partners. 2024 Mental Health at Work Report. Mind Share Partners, 2024. https://www.mindsharepartners.org/mentalhealthatworkreport-2024
Deloitte Insights. Mental Health and Employers: The Case for Investment — Pandemic and Beyond. Deloitte, 2022. https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consulting/articles/mental-health-and-employers-the-case-for-investment.html
Chisholm, D., et al. Scaling-up Treatment of Depression and Anxiety: A Global Return on Investment Analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 3, no. 5, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30024-4
Kaiser Family Foundation. 2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey. KFF, 2024. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/report/2024-employer-health-benefits-survey/