HR consulting firm helps companies reduce costs by enabling employees to get help directly from the EAP, instead of unnecessary visits to health care providers

NEW YORK / DECEMBER 2, 2009 – Corporate Counseling Associates (CCA) is offering Employee Assistance Program (EAP) “gatekeeper” services that can help employers contain costs while complying with a new mental health parity act.

Many employers fear benefit costs will skyrocket as a result of complying with the Wellstone-Domenici Parity Act. The law, which goes into effect January 1, 2010, requires employers of 50 or more employees to provide mental health and substance use benefits equal to physical health benefits.

Corporate Counseling Associates is a leader in helping employers reduce health care expenditures by serving as a “gatekeeper,” integrating Employee Assistance Program benefits with behavioral health benefits under an employer’s medical plan. This provides a powerful means to enhance the health and well-being of the workforce while making certain that behavioral health costs aren’t increased by unnecessary and inappropriate usage.

Placing CCA’s Employee Assistance Program at the entry point to the behavioral health benefit controls costs by accomplishing the following:

• Eliminate redundancy between EAP counseling and short-term outpatient counseling delivered through the medical plan benefit.
• Resolve 65% of all EAP cases through consultations, short-term treatment and Work/Life services.
• Provide accurate diagnosis, clinical consultations, short-term treatment and treatment planning services with no deductible or co-pay to employees/families.
• Manage clinical transitions across the continuum of care—outpatient, inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient.

“Our experience shows that EAPs reduce inappropriate and unnecessary visits to primary care and behavioral health care providers by resolving issues employees are struggling with—such as eldercare or childcare—and not just managing the symptoms caused by the problem,” said Bob Levy, president, Corporate Counseling Associates.

Diagnoses, clinical consultations, short-term treatment and more can be provided with no deductible or co-pay to employees and families, according to Levy. “It’s more cost effective to have employees get help directly from the EAP rather than using the medical plan benefit,” he adds.

About Corporate Counseling Associates
CCA manages critical people issues that place organizations at risk. In business for 25 years with over 250 top-tier accounts, CCA brings a full-time staff of industrial and organizational psychologists, clinical social workers/psychologists and counseling professionals to solve human capital-based business problems. CCA’s integrated human capital consulting service offerings are: EAP & Work/Life, Learning & Development and Coaching & Organizational Consulting. For more information, call (212) 686-6827 or visit CCA’s Web site at www.corporatecounseling.com.

Media Contact:
Georgia Critsimilios, Corporate Counseling Associates
212-686-6827
ghc@corporatecounseling.com