MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) has released a report analysing factors impacting employee health, revealing only 1.6% of all paid claims in MAXIS GBN’s data are for mental health conditions despite 22.9% of claims in the retail industry alone being for mental health.
MAXIS is the international employee benefits joint venture between MetLife and AXA, providing captive fronting, pooling and management services for employee benefits programmes across the globe.
The report examined how industry, culture and gender impact a variety of different health claims, with mental health being a key area of focus, with all these factors having the potential to impact such claims.
There was a 70% increase in mental health claims from 2020-2022 compared to 2017-2019, while 16% of insurers globally reported in 2023 that they do not provide plans that cover mental health services.
The report also explores how multinationals can ensure their employee benefits programmes are as beneficial as possible for their employees.
“Increasingly, I’m tasked with guiding multinationals who want to know how to persuade their board of directors on both the merits of wellness and sustaining their investment in it,” said Dr Leena Johns, chief health & wellness officer at MAXIS GBN.
“And I completely understand this predicament. HR executives championing wellness initiatives find themselves navigating a complex landscape, where every expenditure is put under the microscope, against the backdrop of escalating healthcare costs and broader economic inflation.
“Multinationals are right to want to see a return on their investment in wellness programmes.”
The report also found that in 12 of the 13 industries covered by MAXIS GBN’s data, musculoskeletal (MSK) claims were the top cost driver, with spending on MSK care nearly tripling from $26m to $95m between 2018 and 2022.