An employee assistance program (EAP) is an employer-paid benefit that gives employees, and usually their household members, free and confidential access to short-term counseling, referrals and practical help with personal and work problems. It is one of the lowest-cost benefits an employer can offer, and one of the most underused.
Key takeaways
- Free and confidential. Employees contact the EAP directly. The employer does not learn who used it or why.
- Short-term by design. EAPs provide a limited number of counseling sessions per issue and refer employees to longer-term care through the health plan when they need it.
- More than counseling. Most programs also include legal and financial consultations, work-life referrals and crisis support.
- Keep it simple and it stays simple. An EAP that meets four federal conditions is an excepted benefit, which keeps it outside most health plan mandates.
What EAP benefits typically include
Programs differ, so read the contract, but most EAPs include some combination of the following.
- Short-term counseling for stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and family problems, substance use and work conflict, usually a set number of free sessions per issue, in person, by video or by phone
- 24/7 crisis support through a phone line staffed by counselors
- Legal consultations on matters such as wills, landlord disputes and family law, typically an initial consultation and a discount on further work
- Financial coaching on budgeting, debt and credit
- Work-life referrals for child care, elder care, adoption and other life events
- Manager consultation to help supervisors handle a difficult conversation or a struggling employee
- Critical incident response after a workplace accident, death or other traumatic event
Who can use an EAP
Most EAPs cover all employees, not only those enrolled in the medical plan, and many also cover spouses, dependents and anyone living in the employee’s household. That breadth is part of the value: part-time staff and employees who waive medical coverage still have somewhere to turn.
Confidentiality
Employees call or log in to the EAP provider directly. The employer receives only aggregate utilization reports, such as how many people used the service and the general categories of concern, with nothing that identifies an individual. Saying this plainly when you announce the benefit is the single biggest driver of whether people use it.
How employers offer an EAP
Standalone programs
A dedicated EAP vendor, bought directly by the employer, with its own service levels, session limits and reporting. This is the route for employers who want more sessions, on-site support or detailed reporting. Our employee assistance program page covers how we source and place these.
Embedded programs
Many carriers include a basic EAP with group life or group disability coverage at no extra cost. It is worth checking whether you already have one, because employees often do not know it exists.
The rules that keep an EAP simple
Federal rules treat an EAP as an excepted benefit, and so outside the Affordable Care Act’s group health plan mandates and HIPAA portability rules, only if it meets all four of these conditions:
- It does not provide significant benefits in the nature of medical care.
- Its benefits are not coordinated with another group health plan: employees cannot be required to use the EAP before they can use the medical plan, and EAP eligibility cannot depend on enrolling in the medical plan.
- Employees pay no premium or contribution to participate.
- There is no cost sharing, such as copays or deductibles.
An EAP that offers extensive treatment, rather than short-term counseling and referral, can become a group health plan in its own right, with COBRA and other obligations attached. Counseling benefits in the medical plan are also governed by mental health parity rules; see mental health parity compliance.
Getting employees to use it
- Announce it with the phone number and login on a card or poster, not only in the benefits guide
- Repeat it at open enrollment, at onboarding and after any difficult event at work
- Train managers to mention it when they see an employee struggling
- Name the non-counseling services, such as legal, financial and child care help, which many employees find easier to start with
Our employee benefits communications work helps put the EAP in front of employees at the moments they need it.
More plain-English benefits explainers
- Health Insurance for Employees: how Michigan employers set up a group plan
- What Is an HSA?: the tax-free account paired with a high-deductible plan
- What Is Commercial Health Insurance?: private coverage versus government programs
- What Does EE Mean?: EE, ES, EC and family coverage tiers
- Medical Loss Ratio Rebates: what employers must do with the check
- Offering Group Health Insurance With No Employer Contribution: a guide for businesses with 2-50 employees
Frequently asked questions
What are EAP benefits for employees?
Free, confidential short-term counseling plus services such as legal and financial consultations, work-life referrals, crisis support and manager consultation, paid for by the employer.
Is an EAP really confidential?
Yes. Employees contact the provider directly and the employer receives only aggregate, non-identifying reports.
How many free sessions does an EAP provide?
It depends on the program. Most offer a set number of free counseling sessions per issue and refer employees to the health plan for longer-term care.
Can family members use the EAP?
Most EAPs cover spouses, dependents and household members as well as the employee. Check your program’s eligibility rules.
Do employees pay for an EAP?
No. To remain an excepted benefit, an EAP cannot charge employees a premium, contribution or cost sharing.
Want to know what your EAP actually includes?
CFH Insurance Consultants is an independent employee benefits firm. We are licensed insurance brokers, and for proper coverage of an account we work in teams of five. We will check whether you already have an EAP embedded in your life or disability coverage, compare it with standalone programs, and help you put it in front of employees where it will get used. Start here, call 248.370.8853, or book a 30-minute call.
This article is general information, not legal advice. EAP services and eligibility vary by program; the contract with your EAP provider governs what is covered.
