Blog highlights
- Look for peer-reviewed research and independent validation when considering mental health solutions.
- Evaluate whether studies connect mental health care to medical cost, productivity, and retention.
- Check whether the research explains how outcomes happen.
- Prioritize evidence that can stand up in both HR and finance conversations.
Many mental health solutions ask employers to judge success by activity, such as utilization, sessions, registrations, or vendor-reported engagement.
Those signals matter, but they do not answer the question CHROs and benefits leaders face in an executive meeting: Is this benefit improving employee health and creating measurable value for the organization?
Spring Health’s research studies give HR leaders a stronger way to evaluate impact through peer-reviewed studies, independent validation, large datasets, and measurable outcomes across clinical improvement, healthcare costs, access, retention, and productivity.
Below are 10 stats that show what Spring Health’s research has found, what each study examined, and why the evidence matters for employers evaluating mental health benefits.
1. 92% of Spring Health members reliably improved or recovered from depression or anxiety
Depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental health challenges employers see across the workforce, and they can affect attendance, focus, productivity, manager relationships, and healthcare costs.
In a study of Spring Health members published in OJPHI, 92% of members reliably improved or recovered from depression or anxiety.
For HR leaders, this is the difference between measuring whether employees used a benefit and measuring whether the benefit helped people get better. It also gives benefits teams a clinically meaningful outcome to bring into renewal, procurement, and CFO conversations.
Read the full OJPHI study: “Biggest Outcome Study Ever” (Ward 2025, n=52,929)
2. 62% of Spring Health members achieved remission from depression or anxiety
Remission is a strong signal of how well a mental health solution is working because it reflects symptom reduction below a clinical threshold.
In the same OJPHI study, 62% of Spring Health members achieved remission from depression or anxiety.
That matters because a mental health benefit should be accountable for more than access. It should be accountable for progress. For CHROs, remission data helps show that the benefit is not only being used, but helping employees move toward meaningful recovery.
Read the full OJPHI study: “Biggest Outcome Study Ever” (Ward 2025, n=52,929)
3. Spring Health members recover 5.9 weeks faster than with its leading competitor
When employees struggle with mental health, time matters. Weeks of delayed or ineffective care can show up as absenteeism, lower productivity, leave of absence risk, and higher healthcare spend.
Published research in JAMA Network Open found that Spring Health members recover 5.9 weeks faster than our leading competitor.
For employers comparing mental health solutions, recovery speed is a practical measure. Faster recovery can mean employees spend less time navigating the wrong level of care and more time getting support that works.
Read the full JAMA Network study: “Clinical Effects of Asynchronous Provider-Guided Practice Sessions During Blended Care Therapy for Anxiety and Depression: Pragmatic Retrospective Cohort Study”
4. Spring Health participation was associated with $164 per-member-per-month net savings and 1.9x ROI
Mental health benefits often sit at the center of a budget question: Does the investment pay for itself?
A JAMA Network Open study (Hawrilenko 2025, n=13,990) found that Spring Health participation was associated with:
- $164 per-member-per-month net savings.
- $1,070 first-year savings per participant.
- A 13.5% net reduction in medical spend.
For CHROs and benefits leaders, this is finance-ready evidence. It connects mental health care to broader healthcare cost reduction, not only to employee experience.
Read the full JAMA Network study: “Return on Investment of Enhanced Behavioral Health Services”
5. Spring Health employers saw a 52% reduction in total mental health claims costs
A Validation Institute 2025 Report found a 52% reduction in total mental health claims costs for Spring Health employers.
This matters because it gives HR leaders a third-party-validated cost outcome. In a market where many vendors cite engagement or satisfaction, independently validated claims-cost reduction helps employers evaluate whether the benefit is changing spend in a measurable way.
Read the full study: “2025 Validation Report”
6. Spring Health employers saw a 24% reduction in total net mental health plus physical claims costs
Mental health does not sit apart from physical health. Untreated or poorly treated mental health needs can affect medical utilization, chronic condition management, and total healthcare costs.
The same Validation Institute 2025 Report found a 24% reduction in total net mental health plus physical claims costs for Spring Health employers.
For HR leaders, this expands the business case. A strong mental health benefit can help support the whole cost picture, which is especially important when benefits teams need to make the case to finance.
Read the full study: “2025 Validation Report”
7. Across 19 Spring Health employers, pooled ROI was 2.3x
A single ROI study can be useful. Repeated ROI across employers is more credible.
A Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research meta-analysis (Hawrilenko 2025, n=42,148) found that across 19 Spring Health employers, the pooled ROI was 2.3x, with all 19 employers achieving net-positive ROI.
This is the kind of evidence CHROs need when they are deciding whether outcomes are repeatable. It also shows CFOs that the financial impact was not limited to one employer, one population, or one unusual case.
Read the full study: “The Impact of Enhanced Behavioral Health Services on Total Healthcare Costs Among US Employers: A Site-Level Analysis of 19 Cohort Studies”
8. Spring Health members in care were about 1.6x more likely to be retained
Mental health challenges can affect whether employees stay, especially when support arrives too late or does not fit their needs.
Research from Bondar 2022 in JAMA Network Open, paired with Validation Institute 2023 findings, found that Spring Health members in care recovered productivity and were about 1.6x more likely to be retained, driving 1.94x workplace ROI.
For CHROs, this connects mental health benefits to a core people metric. Retention is not only a finance issue. It is a workforce stability issue, a culture issue, and a leadership issue.
Read the full study: “Clinical and Financial Outcomes Associated With a Workplace Mental Health Program Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic”
9. Spring Health care navigation was associated with 7.1x higher odds of starting therapy
Access is only meaningful if employees can actually start care. A directory, a phone number, or a list of providers may still leave someone stuck.
A PLOS One study (Ward 2025, n=36,964 U.S. members) found that Spring Health care navigation was associated with 7.1x higher odds of starting therapy, 36% more sessions attended, and added symptom improvement for the highest-severity members.
Guided care can help members take the next step and stay connected long enough for care to work.
Read the full study: “A remote care navigation solution associated with improved utilization and outcomes of mental healthcare: A nationwide cohort study in the USA”
10. Spring Health members matched to an algorithm-recommended therapist improved up to 8.5% faster
Finding the right therapist is one of the hardest parts of mental health care. Poor fit can delay progress, increase dropout, and make employees feel like they need to start over.
In npj Mental Health Research (Ward 2026, n=24,303 patients and 6,119 providers), Spring Health members matched to an algorithm-recommended therapist improved up to 8.5% faster and recovered at higher rates than those who self-selected, at 11% to 13% lower cost per improved member.
This is the evidence behind Precision Mental Healthcare. It shows that matching, when done well, can affect speed, recovery, and cost.
Read the full study: “A large-scale evaluation of provider-patient matching in an employer-sponsored mental health program”
How CHROs should evaluate mental health research from any vendor
When evaluating mental health solutions, CHROs should look closely at the following:
- Does the research measure outcomes, or only activity? Spring Health’s research measures clinical outcomes such as reliable improvement, remission, recovery, time to care, retention in treatment, and cost per improved member. That gives HR leaders a stronger standard for evaluating whether care is working.
- Has the research been externally validated? Spring Health’s approved evidence includes peer-reviewed research and third-party validation from OJPHI, JAMA Network Open, PLOS One, npj Mental Health Research, the Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Population Health Management, Psychiatric Services, and the Validation Institute.
- Are the datasets large enough to be credible? Spring Health’s research includes large member and employer datasets, including an OJPHI outcomes study with 52,929 members, the JAMA Network Open medical cost study with 13,990 participants, the ROI meta-analysis across 19 employers and 42,148 members, and the access and equity study with 742,658 eligible lives.
- Does the research connect clinical outcomes to business outcomes? Spring Health’s evidence connects member improvement and remission to claims-cost reduction, medical savings, ROI, productivity, and retention. That matters because CHROs need a benefit that works for employees and can be defended as part of the broader business strategy.
- Does the research explain why the model works? Spring Health has research on care navigation, precision matching, access equity, therapist fit, recovery speed, and cost outcomes. This helps buyers understand how the model produces results: members are guided into care, matched more precisely, supported through treatment, and measured against clinical progress.
About Spring Health
Spring Health is a global mental health company built on one AI-native platform so care follows individuals across every job, move, health plan, and life stage. Independently validated by JAMA Network Open and the Validation Institute, Spring Health reaches 170+ million people worldwide through leading employers and health plans.
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