Mental and physical health care have long been treated as separate silos, but there’s a growing recognition in the benefits industry that an integrated, personalized care experience can improve health outcomes, manage chronic disease and reduce “ballooning health spend,” according to Matthew Chow (pictured right), chief mental health officer at Telus Health.
“We’re moving employee benefits away from being a safety net — just catching people when they fall — [to] a driver of optimal human performance and well-being,” he said during Benefits Canada’s 2026 Chronic Disease at Work conference.
The change is partly driven by challenges in the public health system, he noted. A specialist physician himself, he said he has often been struck by the “scarcity mindset” among people who were referred to him and apologized for taking up his time.
“Unfortunately, the messaging right now in the system is, ‘Don’t call, don’t come to the emergency room, don’t use the resources because the resources are under strain,’” he said. “What we’re trying to say is there’s a better way and that way is to engage in prevention [and] well-being supports early.”
Also speaking during the event, Adam Myers (pictured left), senior vice-president at Telus Health Care Centres, said a relationship-based care model is essential to an effective personalized benefits offering. People want to feel empowered, he added, noting “that empowerment really comes through a relationship with trusted individuals who are . . . specifically focused on what’s best for the person in front of them, in partnership with them.”
Chow suggested employers conduct an audit of their offerings, asking themselves whether their benefits consider the whole person or if they’re individual point solutions. “[That] has been the traditional approach: a point solution for [an employee assistance program], maybe a point solution for women’s health, maybe a point solution for dietetics. But does it actually consider the whole person in an integrated and evidence-based way?”
He also recommended plan sponsors look at whether their services are complementing the public health system in the provinces in which they operate, offer a range of health-care providers and are using technology in a way that “breaks down silos and supports smooth handoffs” to ensure it’s frictionless for employees to find the help they need.
Chow put particular emphasis on the social pillar of well-being. Research has demonstrated a link between having strong relationships and lower rates of chronic disease, he said. “Given that people spend so much of their time . . . at the workplace, are you paying attention to that social, relational well-being in the workplace?”
Read more coverage of the 2026 Chronic Disease at Work conference.