The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: Episode #45 – Cigna Mental & Emotional Health Goodies
If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive. (I would prefer you view on YouTube, so I know how many people have watched)
You can also listen to an audio version.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Subject Matter Minute. I’m Matt Nagy, thanks for taking a bit of time out of your busy day to put up with my shenanigans. I appreciate you.
So, for spring break, my wife, my youngest, and I went to the Pacific Northwest for a bit of an active vacation. Awe man… I love it up there. To be able to Mountain bike one day on tight grippy trails and then snowboard the next day in deep deep snow, is an amazing experience. We visited some friends in Bellingham Washington, which if you don’t know, is practically in Canada. Mount Baker is a 10,000-foot mountain that basically starts at sea level. That’s very different from around here. But anyway, we got a powder day at Baker and then went south to Mount Hood in Oregon and got another powder day. My blessed boarding season continues. Considering COVID and the late start to the snow, I’ve hit practically nothing but powder days between there, Steamboat, and Snowy Range. But….. that’s neither here, nor there.
I realized recently that I’ve been a bit remiss about thanking some of my subject matter experts. And since this show is built on their expertise, that’s not good. The last episode was on the new telework policy and I got all my info from our very own Jenny Wacker, a Project Manager for A&I, with whom I regularly work.
I also did an episode on the new Ambulance Insurance being offered through EGI, which of course means the subject matter experts were my usuals down there… Karyn Williams and Pam Unruh. Finally, I did an episode on the employee assistance program and I want to thank Amanda Santee for helping me out with that information. Thanks to everyone who has helped me in all the episodes!
Ok… I should probably get to today’s subject, eh? Today we are going to talk about a slew of Cigna health goodies. (music)
What do I mean by a slew of health goodies? Well, it turns out that the State of Wyoming actually offers a ton of services for our mental and emotional health through Cigna. It seems we even have access to another Employee Assistance Program through them. The State has an interest in keeping us both physically and mentally healthy, as it costs the health plan less down the road, so hopefully, we have lower premium increases as well. I don’t think many people understand that Cigna runs the health plan and provides resources, but the State pays out the claims. So, any savings benefits the State. So, in essence, the healthier we are, the better the health plan does, which in turn, saves us money.
So, as far as these goodies go, some are free, and some behavioral visits with a professional, virtually or in person, would be run through your health plan just like a doctor visit.
Before I get too far, I do want to thank my subject matter expert, Alice Burron, who is the State’s go-between for all things Cigna. While you can read all about this in the below resources, if you really want to know more about this stuff, Alice is your person. Thanks, Alice.
Ok, so they’ve lumped the “slew” into 5 categories: Virtual Counseling, Emotional Health and Well-Being, Mental Health, Substance Use, and Coaching and Support. I have linked a “resource guide” in the show notes that goes over the highlights of these areas. So, basically, they are covering everything outside of physical problems. These are services geared toward your emotional and mental health. This is anything from software to help with happiness, to the ability to text with a mental health provider, to help with your finances, to autism coaching to help with your child. … and everything in-between.
I’ve linked resources to most of these areas in the show notes.
The resource guide basically goes over everything that is available. Let’s take a look at it real quick.
This is the guide. Cigna calls it their “behavioral programs.” As I said before, they group things into 5 areas, or 5 buckets, if you will. Virtual Counseling, Emotional Health & Wellbeing, Mental Health, Substance Use, and Coaching and Support. So then we go into more detail on these areas.
The first is Virtual Counseling. The idea here is you can receive behavioral health care without leaving the home. We have access to over 44,000 clinicians and can schedule virtual appointments with them to discuss a wide range of issues. They also have new options such as text therapy and Talkspace, which is a service they give us access to.
Next is Emotional Health and Well-Being. These items are at no additional cost to us. We can get up to 3 free sessions with a licensed clinician in the EAP network. View on-demand seminars, get access to loads of resources. Again, you can find support for a wide range of topics that you can see here. And then we have access to a couple of self-service tools. iPrevail will tailor a program to your needs and connect you with a peer coach, while happify can help you reduce anxiety, stress and boost overall health.
Next is Mental Health. Cigna can help you find support when you need it. From inpatient and outpatient services to online tools, behavioral coaches, and educational support. They provide coaching and support in areas such as autism, eating disorders, and support for parents and families. They also provide free monthly seminars on these topics and more.
The next area is Substance Use. Again, they can set us up with inpatient and outpatient services, online tools, behavioral coaches, and educational support.
The last bucket of services is Coaching and Support Services. As you’ve heard, you can get coaching across all of these areas. Any of the topics or issues mentioned and unmentioned can be helped with our access to behavioral expert coaching.
Ok, so that is the digital resource guide. You probably noticed that there is a lot of crossover with the services offered. The bottom line is that there are a bunch of different ways to get help with our behavioral issues.
Now let’s look at what’s available on the myCigna website. Please keep in mind that they update the website regularly, so the details may have changed by the time you watch this. Just keep looking around, you’ll find the stuff.
When you log into my.cigna.com you will see this page. The two areas of the site that we are talking about today are the coverage and wellness tabs. Under the coverage tab, we will look at the Employee Assistance Program section, and then we will look at the goods under the wellness tab.
So under coverage, let’s click on the EAP. This is where you will find all of the things that you can get assistance with. This is confidential and at no cost to us. Just like the other EAP we have access to, this will support us in the areas of Emotional Health and Family Support, Home Live Referrals, Financial and Legal Assistance, and Job and Career Support.
The site is a bit off right now. Wyoming employees actually don’t have access to the chat with us feature. So, you can click here to schedule a call with an EAP consultant. There are also links to resources on this page and you can start up Happify or iPrevail here at the bottom.
Ok, let’s check out the wellness section now. Hover over wellness and select wellness home. You will see that the wellness section is about more than just mental and emotional health. Although all the physical stuff will help with your mental well-being as well.
Ok, let’s click on stress, as that will take us to the mental health area. You can see here that you can once again sign up for Happify and iPrevail here. There’s a link to some apps and activities, keeping stress in check, measuring stress, and more.
There’s also an area where you can get some discounts on some fitness things, such as a Fitbit, yoga, and acupuncture. Then below that is a nice repository of resources. Work-Life, coping with stress, mindfulness and meditation, and stress relief.
Again, I would suggest that you look through all these areas as it all helps with our emotional and mental health.
Ok, there you go…. More resources out there for State employees. And while I feel fabulous since I’ve been vaccinated, and still have a job, I know that some of you are dealing with more than I am. So please… look through this stuff. When speaking with Alice I learned that one in four people pre-COVID and now almost half the population after the onset of COVID, are experiencing some challenge in their emotional well-being. So I hope some of these resources resonate with those of you in need. I think Wyoming is even more challenged with the current economic situation. Ya know? We need this stuff more than ever.
Alright, that’s it for today! See you next time on the Subject Matter Minute.