How To Use Your EAP Benefits In Addiction Recovery

Drug and alcohol abuse in America produces a staggering financial cost in the form of preventable healthcare expenses, lost productivity, legal expenses, and more. With more than 27 million people in the U.S. each year using illicit drugs or misusing prescription drugs, and 66 million binge drinking each month, the annual economic impact of illicit drug use and alcohol misuse was estimated to total over $442 billion in 2019, according to the U.S. surgeon general. 

Along with the financial cost of substance abuse, it is important that we also consider the human cost. In 2023 alone, at least 107,543 Americans died due to drug overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. This was a small decrease from the estimated 111,029 Americans who died in 2022. And this does not include the countless other people who experience lasting injuries, disability, and a lower quality of life due to harmful drug and alcohol dependence. 

Because of these and related issues like burnout, depression, anxiety, strained relationships, grief, and financial concerns, many U.S. employers have stepped up and made employee assistance programs (EAPs) freely and discretely available to their employees. In other cases, unions or employees themselves have worked to implement these programs.

EAPs have been demonstrated to be effective in helping employees deal with a wide range of different life issues, while returning value to their employers through improved workplace performance. 

If you are eligible for EAP benefits, accessing them can give you valuable short-term support and a bridge to longer-term treatment as needed. Here’s how to get started. 

What Is An Employee Assistance Program?

An EAP is a program made available to employees or their family members to help with a wide variety of life problems and stressors that may impact an employee’s work performance. EAPs are, in most cases, confidential and free to access, providing assessments, short-term counseling services, educational services, treatment referrals, and post-treatment follow-up services. They are also cost-effective for employers.

However, despite being valuable and free, EAPs are also often underutilized due to a variety of factors including privacy concerns/distrust, poor understanding of the services offered, or uncertainty about how to access EAP benefits.

For people who do choose to participate, substance use issues are often cited as a reason. The earliest EAP programs, dating from the 1940s, were expressly developed to help combat alcohol addiction and improve workers’ job performance and productivity accordingly. 

What An EAP Is Not

EAPs are not a tool that employers can use to spy on their employees. In fact, EAP services are strictly confidential, with services only ever breaking confidentiality under court order, if a practitioner has reason to believe that an individual is a threat to themselves or another person, or if they learn that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused or neglected. 

However, while EAP services can be useful and helpful, they are not intended to provide intensive treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs), nor are they able to provide long-term care and support for other serious issues. This means that EAPs are not a replacement for health insurance or social services, cannot provide medical or advanced psychological care, and should not take the place of a suicide hotline or other emergency services. 

Instead, EAPs work as a resource that employees can tap into to help them deal with certain problems in the short term while receiving referrals and guidance to treat more significant, long-term term issues like SUDs or serious mental illnesses. 

Types Of EAPs

EAPs can be structured in a variety of different ways, including the following.

• In-House/Internal Programs, in which EAP practitioners provide services at a large-scale workplace either as direct employees of the company or on behalf of an EAP vendor
• External Programs, in which EA intake specialists direct employees to scheduled appointments provided locally by a network of EAP practitioners 
• Blended Programs, in which employees may have the option of meeting with an in-house practitioner or an external practitioner in their area
• Management-Sponsored Programs, which are EAPs sponsored by an employer (management) rather than an employee union, often with services linked to an employee’s health-benefit structure
• Member-Assistance Programs (MAP), another term for an EAP sponsored by a union rather than an employer directly
• Peer-Based Programs, which are very uncommon and involve peer-led services provided by certain coworkers who have received extensive education and training 

How To Use Your EAP Addiction Benefits

Accessing your EAP benefits for addiction recovery or other concerns is usually easy, and you should not let nervousness or uncertainty about the process prevent you from reaching out. 

Depending on your employer and EAP structure, you can use your benefits by:

• visiting your on-site EAP practitioner (if one is available) in their office, calling them, or sending them an email requesting an appointment
• calling your EAP provider’s hotline, the phone number for which should be available in your employee handbook or company intranet
• visiting your EAP provider’s website or online portal, creating an account, and placing a request electronically

Once your request is received, you should expect an appointment to be scheduled very quickly, as EAPs are intended to provide rapid, short-term support for employees on-demand. 

Connection With Addiction Treatment Services

EAP practitioners are generally trained and licensed counselors, with some having even higher levels of education. However, a handful of visits as part of your EAP benefits is no substitute for a personalized, professional addiction treatment program. 

If your EAP representative believes that you have substance use disorder and would benefit from other treatment services, he or she is able to provide you with a referral to an appropriate treatment provider. 

Addiction treatment options include:

• medical detox services, in which a client is guided through the process of acute withdrawal in a secure and medically managed setting in order to minimize the risk for relapse and severe withdrawal symptoms or other health complications
• inpatient / residential substance abuse treatment services, which are provided inside a secure, comfortable treatment facility with living quarters and highly intensive and focused treatment programming
• intensive outpatient programs, which are provided on a full- or part-time basis, with clients commuting to a local treatment center for scheduled treatment sessions
• outpatient treatment programs, which are held at an outpatient treatment facility for several hours one or two days each week, or sometimes in digital formats
• medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs, which combine counseling or behavioral therapy with the use of FDA-approved medications like naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine for opioid use disorder and naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram for alcohol use disorder

EAP counseling is also available to help employees who have received some form of professional treatment and returned home to resume their job. 

Paying For Your Treatment

Using your EAP benefits is free. However, if you are referred to other treatment services, you will still need to pay for the cost of your care. Fortunately, there are a variety of different options available to help you afford the substance abuse treatment services you need to thrive.

Health Insurance Benefits

Under federal law, employer-sponsored and Health Insurance Marketplace health insurance policies are required to cover treatment for substance use and mental health disorders as essential services. This means that you can use your health insurance to pay for treatment as you would with any other medical procedure. However, you may still need to be careful that your provider is in-network and that you clearly understand your policy and any out-of-pocket costs your treatment will entail. 

Financial Aid Options

If you have financial limitations that may prevent you from getting the care you need, you may be able to work with your treatment provider or local government in order to make your treatment more affordable or accessible. Many treatment centers offer need- or income-based sliding scale payment programs, scholarships, or publicly funded treatment services, so explore your options.

Loans

Medical loans can help you pay for your treatment up front while spreading your loan repayment out over a longer period of time. This approach can make treatment accessible when insurance fails to meet a person’s need, and it does have some advantages. Rates tend to be low, approvals are fast, and it can put you in control of your own situation. 

FMLA / ADA Benefits

Many people put off or avoid getting the help they need for a drug or alcohol use disorder because they are worried about losing their job and income in the process. But, in fact, the best thing you can do for you and your career is to get the help you need when you need it. 

Fortunately, if you do begin treatment, your job may be protected under rules set down in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which classifies SUDs as a protected disability, with certain limitations. This means that your job may be legally protected and your employer may be required to make reasonable accommodations to help out if you need additional treatment moving forward. 

Likewise, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) you may be able to take job-protected, unpaid leaves of absence to attend addiction treatment services without risking your employment status. 

Reach Out To Ark Behavioral Health 

As a leading Massachusetts-based and Ohio-based addiction treatment provider, Ark Behavioral Health’s professional recovery centers offer comprehensive and compassionate care for people experiencing any and all forms of substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, stimulant use disorder, and more. Our behavioral health services also include short-term residential treatment for mental health disorders such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Our treatment services include: 

• medical detoxification and withdrawal symptom management
• dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders
• medication-assisted treatment (MAT) options
• behavioral therapies
• peer support groups
• family psychoeducation
• alternative treatment programming
• aftercare coordination

Our case managers are experienced in working with EAPs, helping employees keep their jobs during treatment, and providing other critical services to support your recovery.

To learn more about Ark Behavioral Health and our treatment centers, including Bedrock Recovery Center, Spring Hill Recovery Center, and Ohio Recovery Center, please contact us today.