Short-Term Disability for Depression

Depression is prevalent in the workplace and is getting even more commonplace with the inordinate stresses that are put on individuals today. However, getting disability relief for depression, or any mental illness, can be difficult. It all depends on your employer. What employers need to realize is that having a depressed person on staff is going to limit that person’s productivity because the worker is more likely to make mistakes on the job and miss more days of work. It is actually to the employer’s benefit to provide treatment to his employee to help him overcome his depression, and then return to work as a healthier, more productive employee.

Limited Coverage

• Quite often you will find that mental health benefits are more restrictive than what is offered by a company to treat other diseases and conditions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Ninety-five percent of health insurance plans that were surveyed by BLS limited the amount of outpatient coverage that employees can receive for depression or other mental illnesses.

Effects

• Robert Hartwig, who is the chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute in New York, explains that depression is the most common form of mental illness among workers and, if not treated, increases tardiness, absenteeism and the potential that an employee may injure himself on the job. Depression is treatable and short-term disability is a wonderful idea, for both the employee and the employer, who will reap the benefits, financially, down the road. Depression has a negative impact of productivity and no employer wants that.

Theories/Speculation

• According to Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, cultural, market and political factors may keep employer-sponsored mental health benefits limited. There is a stigma to mental illness and for some employers this stigma is hard to overcome. Furthermore, some employers fail to recognize the damage that depression can do in the workplace. The indirect costs of untreated depression are not fully taken into consideration, although they should be. However, more long-term work disability claims that are the direct result of depression are being filed, which makes it essential that employers recognize the problem and provide assistance to employers. If treated in time, a depressed individual may be able to avoid long-term hospitalization and disability.

Employer Benefits

• A company that provides a health plan that includes treatment for depression, reimbursement for psychotropic drugs and psychotherapy will find that this pays off in the long run.

Reimbursement Limits

• Moneywatch.com notes that treatment for mental illnesses may be reimbursable at a lower rate than if the employee were being treated for a physical illness.