In recent years, celebrities across industries have begun to play a more visible, and critical, role in directing public attention toward health-related issues, a shift that has the potential to drive real employee benefits outcomes, while at the same time challenging HR and benefits leaders on several fronts.
For example, pop icons Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga both have founded organizations that benefit people living with anxiety, depression, PTSD and other mental illnesses. Also, famous athletes like Kevin Love, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles have openly shared their mental health journeys, while actors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Kristen Bell have also been candid about such struggles.
Celebrities having public causes is nothing new; yet, the breadth of big names attaching their profiles to mental health services and products suggests a broader push to reduce stigma, which could fuel continued employer interest in benefits related to mental health. It’s an outcome many employees increasingly expect: Recent research finds that about one-third of employees are “merely surviving” because of lagging mental health. At the same time, a vast majority of benefits leaders cite performance-related impacts of poor mental health and rising rates or mental health leaves.
Tom Brady and the even brighter spotlight on GLP-1s
Another healthcare front getting a shot in the arm by a big name is one of HR’s thorniest, and costliest: weight loss, specifically through GLP-1s. NFL great Tom Brady, co-owner and founding chief wellness officer of eMed, just launched an exclusive offer designed specifically for healthcare professionals. The program gives healthcare organizations access to clinically managed GLP-1 care for just $25 per covered person, per month.
According to a press release, Brady created the program to give back to healthcare professionals who supported him throughout his career. The goal is to make metabolic healthcare more accessible to the workforce responsible for the nation’s health.
eMed’s release notes that healthcare professionals represent one of the largest workforces in the U.S., with roughly 22 million professionals working across hospitals, clinics and health systems nationwide.
“I relied on incredible healthcare professionals who helped me stay on the field,” said Brady in the release. “These were the coaches of my life. They fought for me and now I want to fight for them. If you are a healthcare professional and you want to join eMed’s exclusive program, reach out to me at [email protected]. I mean it.”
Brady’s announcement comes as employee interest in GLP-1 coverage continues to skyrocket—yet employers continue to struggle with the medication’s cost, amid rising demand, highlighting the double-edge sword of celebrity involvement.
A recent report found that 93% of employees who lack GLP-1 coverage would take the drug if they got reimbursed.
Diversifying the avenues for benefits awareness
Apart from riding the momentum from celebrity-driven attention to issues like mental health and GLP-1 use to drive benefits adoption, employers are leaning in to other avenues to connect employees to the benefits most meaningful to them.
Serah Morrissey, senior director of people and culture at Schoox, an AI-engineered learning and growth platform for frontline enterprises, says in recent years many organizations have looked to enhance their mental health offerings beyond the traditional employee assistance program. Particularly, Morrissey says, they are prioritizing diversity of offerings.
“I expect to see companies include free or subsidized therapy in their benefit plans, complemented by subscriptions to mobile apps like Headspace, Calm and Better Help,” she says. “Organizations will offer more flexibility when employees need time off for mental illnesses and will be more inclusive with language in their sick leave policies.”
Recognition is another way to drive outcomes. For instance, she points to Mental Health America, which awards the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health annually. This certification highlights employers investing heavily in mental health insurance parity, as well as early intervention programs and leadership transparency around mental health. Schoox was just awarded the Platinum Bell Seal for the second straight year.
Most importantly, however, she says, organizations need to solicit—and act on—employee feedback about benefits.
“The best way for employers to determine which benefits are most important to employees is to ask them,” Morrissey says. Employers should first identify gaps in current benefits policies, then engage current benefit brokers and providers to see what options exist for expanding plans to include or improve mental health and other benefits.
“Though many medical insurance plans are making progress to include mental healthcare,” she says, “it may require building more of a ‘benefits ecosystem’ to ensure the most important wellness needs of employees are met effectively.”
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