The Cost of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Abstract

Despite the increasing prevalence of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), few studies have examined the cost of these programs. This paper presents consistent and comparable cost data from case studies of EAPs at seven worksites. Because the same data collection instruments and methods were used to collect cost data at each worksite, the data can be used to directly compare cost estimates across programs. The key findings show that EAPs exhibit some economies of scale, that labor costs account for the majority of EAP costs regardless of the services offered, and that EAPs with similar costs per eligible employee may use a substantially different mix of resources. In addition to the cost analyses, the case study findings are compared to recently reported national estimates of EAP costs. The results of this study will help policy makers and employers determine the range of EAP costs for different types of services.