Sun Life is embedding online counselling in the firm’s app, with 50-minute sessions at $140 reimbursable under existing plan benefits for plan sponsors
Two of the country’s leading care providers, Sun Life and Dialogue, are partnering together to roll out an online counselling service via the mySunLife app to increase mental health support and coverage.
Alexis Wise, VP of strategy and sales enablement at Sun Life Health, group benefits, believes the move reflects growing demand from what they’re hearing - and seeing - in the benefits space. Notably, the move also comes as recent research found that employers are funding more therapy than employees say they needed.
“There continues to be growing demand for mental health support. People still face barriers to accessing care, and we really wanted to see what we could do to support our members and employers," she said.
"The challenge often for Canadians is knowing where to start. How do they access trusted mental health care when they need it? Together, with Dialogue, we're working to make it easier for people to access the care they need and find the registered mental health professionals that can help them and their family when they need access to care,” she added.
The partnership comes as a Pollara survey, published this past spring and commissioned by the Canadian Mental Health Association, found 81 per cent of Canadians back continued federal funding for mental health services - with the government's existing $5-billion commitment set to expire next year.
How plan members receive counselling service
Online counselling through the mySunLife app is open to anyone age 14 and over in Canada, Wise said, and there is no separate enrolment step or subscription required as members book a 50-minute session at $140 when they need it.
Those with mental health coverage on their benefits plan can submit the cost for reimbursement, though what they get back depends on their plan's design, practitioner eligibility rules, and available room under their limits, she noted. Wise also stressed that online counselling is not a standalone coverage category. It sits within a member's existing paramedical benefits, so usage draws on the same allocation rather than creating a new line item.
“The focus of this launch was really just to make it easy to access the care that people are looking for and reducing friction as much as possible,” noted Wise. “It's super straightforward when someone needs support because it's just a few clicks away.”
What makes the partnership different?
Still, the partnership and launch of the service come as most insurers already offer some form of virtual mental health access through their group platforms, which raises an obvious question about differentiation. Wise frames the service as a bridge between employer-funded programs and member-funded care, pointing to a scenario where a member exhausts the set number of sessions included in Dialogue's Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
"They can be referred to the online counselling solution and really receive that continuity of care for the same concern that they initiated a conversation with a clinician about through the EAP," she said. "People don't think about the care they need in these benefit categories so we're really trying to make it as easy as possible for people to find the support they need and have connections between our products and make those handoffs seamless."
An all-in-one solution to access mental health care
That integration is central to the pitch, Wise suggests. In the mySunLife app, members can now access virtual primary care, an online pharmacy, provider search, and online counselling in one place.
"This is about making health easy for individuals," Wise said, adding that the booking process lets users select preferences for the kind of provider they want to speak with, receive care through a virtual visit or phone call, and review a care plan after the session.
"We're trying to bring care, coverage, and navigation all together in a single application for individuals," she added.
The service is designed for members with mild to moderate needs, Wise noted. Sessions are conducted by registered psychotherapists or social workers and can address concerns such as stress, anxiety, grief, burnout, and relationship issues.
When online counselling reaches its limits
Still, Wise acknowledged that the service has hard boundaries, emphasizing that it’s not built for crisis or emergency situations, and members in acute distress should call 911 or go to an emergency room.
When a case falls outside the scope of what online counselling can address, clinicians refer the individual to an appropriate clinical pathway. Wise said Sun Life is evaluating its full suite of mental health offerings with an eye toward expansion, noting that both plan sponsors and plan members continue to rank mental health as a top priority.
Whether this model shifts the economics for plan sponsors at renewal remains to be seen. While Wise declined to comment on the specifics of what comes next, she signaled the insurer sees mental health as a long-term investment area.
"We know mental health is a growing need, will continue to be a need, and it's something that both plan sponsors and plan members care a lot about," she said.
