What is Emotional Wellbeing Solutions, Optum’s Premium Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?
Emotional Wellbeing Solutions is a premium employee assistance program offered by Optum, which offers employers streamlined access to high-quality mental health care for their employees.
Like traditional employee assistance programs (EAPs), Emotional Wellbeing Solutions fully covers short-term, confidential therapy sessions for participating employees. As a premium offering, Emotional Wellbeing Solutions also gives participants dedicated access to Alma’s provider directory through Optum’s website, for expedited connection to high-value care.
Why should I join Emotional Wellbeing Solutions?
For you as a provider, Emotional Wellbeing Solutions allows you to place your profile in front of high-intent clients who have covered access to care through their employer’s wellness benefits. Alma providers who opt into this program will likely receive higher volumes of referrals from engaged and motivated clients.
Emotional Wellbeing Solutions also offers the benefits of other EAPs — 3-10 fully covered sessions with no copay or coinsurance for the client for a specific range of CPT codes — while simplifying and streamlining logistics for your practice. Optum and Alma have worked together so that all clients who come to your practice through Emotional Wellbeing Solutions are automatically approved for coverage of short-term care.
If you and your client choose to continue care beyond the sessions covered by Emotional Wellbeing Solutions, you can still submit their insurance details to Alma’s portal for additional verification.
For clients, Emotional Wellbeing Solutions fully covers the 3-10 sessions specified by their employer, with no copay or coinsurance from the client.
Emotional Wellbeing Solutions also offers a clear entry point to Alma’s directory of providers through their Optum wellness page, streamlining access to care.
What are the reimbursement rates for Emotional Wellbeing Solutions?
The reimbursement rates for Emotional Wellbeing Solutions visits are the same as those for traditional Optum health plan sessions.
Who can participate in Emotional Wellbeing Solutions as a provider?
- You must already be credentialed with Optum through Alma’s Insurance Program, and
- You must be an MA-, Ph.D., or Psy.D-level provider. MDs and NPs are not currently eligible for Emotional Wellbeing Solutions.
Once you are credentialed, please fill out this form to notify our team that you want to opt into Emotional Wellbeing Solutions.
Who can participate in Emotional Wellbeing Solutions as a client?
To take part in this program, clients must be currently employed at an organization that offers Emotional Wellbeing Solutions as a benefit.
What’s the difference between Emotional Wellness Solutions and other programs managed by Optum?
Currently, Optum offers employers three wellness benefits that are in-network with Alma’s Insurance Program:
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Optum’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) includes 3-10 fully covered mental health sessions for participants whose employers have chosen to enroll them in this benefit. EAP is a benefit separate from insurance, and it requires a client authorization code in order to verify coverage for sessions.
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Care Connect is a referral program that offers employees a streamlined pathway from the Optum web portal to a specialized, searchable Alma directory of participating provider profiles.
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Emotional Wellness Solutions, Optum’s premium EAP, offers elements of both of the above programs. It includes both full coverage for short-term care (3-10 sessions with no copay or coinsurance) and premium access to a searchable directory of participating Alma providers through Optum’s website.
Unlike other EAP programs, Emotional Wellness Solutions does not require clients to request an authorization code from their health plan. Instead, Optum and Alma have partnered to share codes digitally, meaning that referrals that come to you through Emotional Wellness Solutions will automatically be approved for care.
Will Alma ever share client data with Optum and employers?
Unless required by law, Alma will only share individual client data with Optum if your client explicitly opts into sharing that data.
If clients opt into sharing their data, this data is used exclusively by Optum for purposes of helping fuel personalized health recommendations for the client. Clients can opt out of sharing their data with Care Connect at any time by clicking the Help button in the bottom right corner of the Support Center.
Individual data is never shared with a client’s employer.
Can I opt out Emotional Wellbeing Solutions whenever I want?
There is no strict time requirement to participate in Emotional Wellbeing Solutions, and you are free to opt-out if it is no longer a good fit for your practice.