The Standard's Whole-Person Approach to Supporting Employees With Cancer

A cancer diagnosis can add an immense number of stressors to an employee’s life. To support them, employers must consider their physical and mental well-being, as well as understand the additional expenses employees will have. That’s why The Standard’s approach to employees with cancer is to provide access to holistic support. Here are some of the benefits we offer to clients to help them support their employees with cancer:

Cancer Screening

Early detection can improve survivability. Providing cancer screening benefits can help catch cancer signs and start treatment early on. The Standard offers cancer screening as part of our Critical Illness insurance.

Covering Out-of-Pocket Expenses

Medical insurance may cover many of the healthcare costs, but that doesn't mean all expenses related to cancer are covered. Medical expenses, such as co-pays and deductibles, and living expenses, like utilities, groceries and child care, can add up. The Standard offers insurance to help cover these additional costs:

• Critical Illness insurance helps cover out-of-pocket expenses related to a serious illness.
• Group Hospital Indemnity insurance pays cash benefits to help with the unexpected costs that can come with a hospital stay.

These payouts can help provide a buffer for loss of income and expenses during an extremely stressful period of life.

Patient Advocacy and Services

An employee with cancer has a variety of challenges they must manage. Personal Health Advocates try to reduce some of that burden by helping them navigate the ins and outs of the healthcare system. Examples include:

• Finding doctors or specialists
• Scheduling appointments
• Explaining test results
• Negotiating fees
• Resolving billing and claims issues

Workplace Possibilities^SM

Providing the right fit of disability benefits and accommodations during this time is crucial. You’ll need to consider each employee’s unique condition, treatment plan and other factors. Our Disability Benefits and Management consultants evaluate each situation before helping employees embark on a return-to-work plan. This plan might include:

• Work schedules for treatments and appointments
• Accommodations for physical and mobility needs
• Mental health referrals to factor behavioral health into their recovery

Employee Assistance Programs

Battling cancer may be only one of the disruptions an employee is facing. A good Employee Assistance program can help ease other work and life challenges. The Standard partners with Health Advocate^TM to provide an Employee Assistance Program that offer services such as:

• Personalized Legal Center with access to legal experts and information
• Behavioral health support for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other personal challenges
• Financial Fitness Center with financial experts and resources
• Mindfulness resources to help manage stress and improve focus
• Support for divorce, grief and loss, and other life transitions
• Assistance locating childcare, eldercare and special needs services

It’s important to remember no two workplaces and no two employees are the same. But helping clients prepare by having the right benefits and resources in place can make a big difference toward recovery.

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