UnitedAg Expands Behavioral Health Resources Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Irvine, Calif., May 21, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented stress on communities worldwide. Before the pandemic, one in five adults in the US reported experiencing mental illness in the last year. Now, nearly half of adults report worsened mental health due to the pandemic. Concerns over job loss, financial insecurity, health and safety risks, social isolation, and grieving for loved ones sickened by the virus are impacting all parts of society.

However, the agricultural industry faced disparities in mental illness before COVID-19 and maybe hit even harder during and after the pandemic. Barriers to care, such as stigma and low access to multilingual providers, have lead to worse mental health outcomes and higher suicide rates in agriculture when compared to the general population. And now, as part of our nation’s critical infrastructure, agricultural workers face the additional stress of being on the frontlines. Even if they stay physically healthy, the emotional toll can have lasting effects. These factors will dramatically increase the need for behavioral health services, both short-term and in the years to come.

At a time of considerable uncertainty when many businesses are cutting costs, UnitedAg remains committed to expanding access to high-quality care. UnitedAg has partnered with Spring Health to offer high-touch, comprehensive, and multilingual behavioral health services to our membership. UnitedAg recognizes the financial burdens individuals and companies are currently facing and is providing this additional benefit at zero cost to our employers and plan participants.

Now more than ever before, the agricultural industry needs a robust mental health program to ensure the well-being and productivity of our workforce. UnitedAg has made this unparalleled investment in behavioral health so that our members receive the emotional support they need to get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Spring Health

At Spring Health, we believe that mental healthcare is not ‘one size fits all.’ By applying the same scientific principles behind precision medicine to mental healthcare, we can accurately predict the right treatment to the right person at the right time, and ultimately accelerate recovery. We call this Precision Mental Healthcare. For more information, visit www.springhealth.com.

About UnitedAg

UnitedAg is a multi-commodity member-owned agricultural trade association dedicated to providing innovative solutions for a strong and healthy agricultural industry. Our over 1,000 agriculture affiliated member organizations network and share creative ways to transform our ever-changing industry. UnitedAg strives to bring innovative solutions to agribusiness by meeting our member’s employee benefit needs, advocating for ag with lawmakers, and helping members comply with regulations.

For further information, contact Maribel Ochoa at 800.223.4590

marketing@unitedag.org

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