Aetna International Extends Wysa Partnership To Provide Enhanced Mental Health Support For Employees

Aetna International has announced that it has extended its partnership with the award-winning mental health platform Wysa.

The expanded partnership will provide Aetna’s members and brokers with around-the-clock access to Wysa’s well-being offering, while the launch of Wysa Plus will provide employers with mental health support to cover the whole workforce.

With access to Wysa, Aetna International members and dependents can benefit from unlimited free access to the app, including its premium and customised Aetna features, as well as dedicated human coaching to help drive behaviour change or escalate issues accordingly. Meanwhile Wysa Plus, a brand-new mental well-being solution for employers, offers the same Wysa benefits beyond insured employees, providing greater access to anonymised reporting, insights and company-wide engagement campaigns.

The need to engage the whole workforce in mental health and well-being initiatives has never been more important. A recent Aetna International survey revealed that 70% of global employees feel that their mental health is a priority. Another 74% feel that their mental health has negatively affected their work during the pandemic. More than ever before, they expect employers to provide comprehensive mental health and well-being services as standard.

Despite this clear demand for better mental health support, 2 in 5 employees globally feel that although the physical health benefits at their organisation improved during the course of the pandemic – progress on mental health remained slow.

To help tackle this, in early 2020, Aetna was quick to accelerate the partnership and bring Wysa’s AI-bot, digital tools and coaching to its staff, members and brokers. Since the initial launch, the two organisations have worked together to scale and evolve the proposition, which is now a fully embedded and integrated part of Aetna Mind.

The Wysa app complements Aetna’s existing services, by giving members instant access to guided mental well-being support, which can help people to self-manage feelings of anxiety, financial stress, isolation and more. As a secure, confidential and easy-to-use digital solution that is available 24/7, it can help to engage a broader audience with materials and activities that support mental well-being; from a simple anonymous conversation to guidance on appropriate next steps.

“At Aetna International we believe that mental health belongs at the forefront of employee health and well-being initiatives, alongside physical health. That is why we are committed to improving access to mental well-being support for our members and employees globally. The extension of our relationship with Wysa allows us to provide easy access to mental health support at scale as we continue to navigate the new hybrid workplace post-pandemic. This means we can offer our members around-the-clock access to a variety of mental health resources, including talking therapy and one-to-one coaching delivered by qualified professionals. Through Wysa, we want to help employers and employees tackle mental health issues early on, as well as support their ongoing commitment to self-care in the workplace.” said Simon Miller, Senior Director of Customer Proposition, Aetna International.

Ramakant Vempati, co-founder of Wysa, said: "We're privileged to be partnered with Aetna. Their forward-thinking approach to members’ wellness has been so inspirational, and the introduction of Wysa Plus takes mental health support beyond Aetna members to cover the whole workforce for a client. This is a great example of how our partnership is creating ground-breaking innovation in the employee benefits space.”