Employers See 2:1 Return from Integrated Women's Health Support, New GreenShield Report Finds

New report finds employers receive $2 back for every $1 invested in integrated support for women

TORONTO, July 21, 2026 /CNW/ -- A new GreenShield report found that employers receive $2 back for every $1 invested in integrated mental health support for women within two years, demonstrating how a more connected approach to care can improve health outcomes while delivering measurable business value.

As women represent a growing share of Canada's workforce while continuing to shoulder a disproportionate share of caregiving responsibilities, employers are increasingly feeling the impact of unmet health needs through productivity, engagement and disability costs.

As women's health needs become increasingly interconnected across mental health, hormonal health, chronic disease, caregiving, and aging, traditional benefits models often leave employees navigating fragmented systems and disconnected services. GreenShield's latest report, Advancing Women's Health with an Integrated Ecosystem of Care, shows that combining coverage and care into a single experience can help women access support earlier, stay engaged longer, and achieve better outcomes over time.

Drawing on insights from GreenShield+™, GreenShield's integrated healthcare and insurance ecosystem, the report highlights how connected access to mental health services, telemedicine, pharmacy care, hormonal health support, well-being services, and benefits can improve both employee health and employer value.

"Women's health needs are complex, evolving, and often underserved by traditional benefit models," says Yan Wang, Senior Vice President, Product, Experience and Health Outcomes at GreenShield. "This report demonstrates that employers don't need to choose between improving employee outcomes and managing benefit costs. When coverage and care work together, they can achieve both."

Key insights from the report:

• Women's health needs evolve across life stages: Women are 15% more likely than men to use multiple services, with patterns shifting across life stages, from counselling and telemedicine among younger women to hormonal and mental health supports in midlife.
• Personalized support drives stronger mental health outcomes: Women matched with preferred providers achieve up to 72% greater improvement in well-being and 97% satisfaction, while digital CBT reduces anxiety by 25% and depression by 30%.
• Convenient access helps women engage earlier in care: Women are 46% more likely to use overnight telemedicine, enabling earlier intervention when traditional options are least available. When women are primary policyholders, dependent use rises to 51% versus 41% for men, reflecting their central role in coordinating care for others.
• Integrated pharmacy support improves long-term health management: Integrated pharmacy services are linked to higher adherence, supporting more consistent management of chronic and evolving hormonal health needs over time.
• Employers realize measurable returns: Employers see $2 returned for every $1 invested in integrated mental health support for women, alongside lower cost growth compared to insurance-only models.

"Women are managing multiple, interconnected health needs, while coordinating care for others, which makes access and continuity of care critical," adds Wang. "When care is integrated and easy to navigate, women engage earlier, stay in care longer and achieve better outcomes for themselves and their families."

GreenShield's Commitment to Women's Health

GreenShield combines coverage and care to improve access, convenience and outcomes for Canadians in pursuit of its mission of Better Health for All.

Building on GreenShield's long-standing commitment to advancing women's health across Canada, initiatives since 2021 such as the Women's Mental Health Signature Initiative have connected nearly 200,000 women from equity-deserving communities to free, culturally relevant mental health services.

These findings reinforce GreenShield's broader women's health strategy, which focuses on delivering connected, life stage-based care that improves access, outcomes and affordability for women across Canada.

To read GreenShield's full Health Outcomes Report, visit: https://grnshld.com/HO2026Jul

About GreenShield 

As Canada's only national non-profit health care and insurance organization, GreenShield believes health care is a right, not a privilege. We're dedicated to improving health outcomes, driving systemic change, and building a future where every Canadian can reach their full health and well-being potential.

We are revolutionizing the health care and insurance experience by bringing coverage and care together in one place. Through our unique integrated payer-provider ("payvider") model, we offer insurance, administer benefits, and pay claims as a 'payer' while offering health care services such as mental health, pharmacy, telemedicine, and chronic disease management as a 'provider'.  

As a non-profit social enterprise without shareholders, we reinvest our excess earnings to directly support underserved communities. Through GreenShield Cares, we positively impacted the health and well-being of over one million Canadians between 2020 and 2025.

What's driving us now is the commitment to measurably impact an additional three million Canadians by 2030 – across mental health, essential medicines, and chronic disease management – through scalable initiatives that deliver meaningful change in pursuit of our mission of Better Health for All. 

GreenShield is proud to be recognized multiple times as one of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, certified annually as a leading Imagine Canada Caring Company, and honoured with repeat placement on Fortune's prestigious Change the World list – a testament to our sustained commitment to purpose-driven innovation and impact. 

SOURCE GreenShield

For media inquiries or further information, please contact: Sarah Mortimer, Communications Manager, [email protected] | 647-221-9037