Personalized mental health support for your employees

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One in five adults will experience a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. Of those individuals, more than half will go untreated.

Employers are also feeling the impact. According to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, lack of productivity from burned-out and disengaged employees can cost the average company $5.04 million each year.

The growing need for mental health support fueled Wellmark’s decision to add a behavioral health focus to its case management program. Since 2024, more members can get no-cost, personalized mental health care as part of their benefits.

In April 2025, Wellmark Director of Health Services – Case Management, Donna Rackley, joined our Health Matters podcast to talk about the program. Here’s what she had to say.

Q. First, what does case management look like at Wellmark?

A. Wellmark’s Case Management Program is for members needing support with complex medical conditions, transitional care when leaving the hospital, pregnancy and LGBTQ+ concerns.

We use claims and other data to identify members with gaps in care or chronic health conditions. When we find a member who could benefit from this program, we reach out and assign a case manager — a registered nurse or social worker. The case manager assesses a member’s care needs and works with them to develop a highly personalized care plan.

Our data was telling us there was a strong need for a behavioral health focus, resulting in the new behavioral health case management program, which includes transition of care support. There are now 10 social workers and registered nurses on the behavioral health case management team with extensive experience and backgrounds in behavioral health. Like traditional case management, Wellmark’s behavioral health case management program is available to all Wellmark members.

Q. What kind of support does a behavioral health case manager provide?

A. The most important service we provide is letting a member know they aren’t alone. A behavioral case manager helps members understand their condition and collaborates with them and their provider to create a highly individualized care plan.

Whatever condition members are working through — a mood disorder, anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, a substance use disorder — we help them navigate the health care system to get the right level of care, find the right provider, understand their medications and how best to manage them.

Our behavioral health transition of care support is a critical piece of the overall behavioral health case management program. This support is for members transitioning from an inpatient treatment environment when the risk for costly readmissions is highest. Our transition of care support typically lasts 30 days after discharge to assist members as they return home or to a lower level of care.

When we launched the behavioral health transition of care program, we included 15 behavioral health conditions. But once we built a specialized team of case managers, we expanded the program to include 618 conditions. This is a significant expansion of who we identify and reach out to for this kind of care.

Q. Do employers pay extra for behavioral health case management?

A. No. Behavioral health case management is built into most employers’ core benefit package.

Even better, members can self-refer. No provider referral is needed. But we do strongly advise members to work closely with their primary care provider (PCP) to chart the best path forward when it comes to mental health. No one knows their whole health journey better. PCPs can also connect members with mental health care specialists in their area.

We also recommend members log in to myWellmark^®. There, they’ll find an anxiety and depression self-screening tool, as well as an in-network health care provider search tool.

Q. What else can employers do to support employee mental health?

A. There are buy-up opportunities within their health plans, including:

• WebMD^® Telephonic Stress Specialist Coaching.
• meQuilibrium™.
• Explore additional virtual care options

These programs are all available through Healthy Connections by Wellmark^®. Employers can learn more about Wellmark’s specialty benefits and point solutions by talking to their Wellmark representative.