Supporting Men’s Health This “Movember:” A Broker’s Meaningful Impact
Quick look: Movember is here, and while the mustaches may be fun, they serve a bigger purpose. This month-long movement highlights the importance of men’s preventive healthcare and mental wellness support. And for brokers, it’s the perfect opportunity to help clients strengthen their benefits offerings and make a real impact.
Have you noticed more mustaches popping up during the fall? For that, you can thank “Movember,” an annual movement encouraging men to grow mustaches to raise awareness around men’s health. The global initiative promotes early detection, mental health awareness, and life-saving support for men everywhere.
Participants often fundraise through sponsorships from family, friends, and colleagues, with proceeds benefiting men’s health organizations. But Movember also provides an opportunity for businesses to review their benefits packages and ensure they’re meeting the unique needs of their workforce, and that’s where brokers come into play.
By helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) expand and refine their benefits offerings, brokers can make a lasting difference year-round.
The history of Movember
The Movember movement began in 2003, when two Australian friends, Travis Garrone and Luke Slattery, challenged 30 men to grow mustaches to raise awareness of men’s health and prostate cancer.
Since then, an estimated 6 million people have participated in Movember, and the campaign has funded over 1,200 men’s health projects focused on three key areas of men’s wellness: mental health, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.
Three ways brokers can champion men’s health in Movember
While Movember’s mustaches get people talking, brokers have the power to turn those conversations into action.
Many business leaders rely on their brokers for strategic guidance on building healthy, resilient workplaces. Here are three ways to support men’s health and strengthen your client relationships at the same time:
1. Prioritize mental health
One of Movember’s signature challenges is “Move for Movember,” encouraging participants to run or walk 60 miles throughout the month to remember the 60 men lost to suicide every hour worldwide. This sobering statistic demonstrates why mental health benefits are so essential.
The stigma around mental health has decreased dramatically, and employees increasingly value and expect access to counseling, therapy, and stress management resources as part of their benefits package. Brokers can help employers address these needs by ensuring mental health support is readily available.
Tailored benefits have shifted from being a “nice to have” to a “must have.” By customizing plans to meet staff’s diverse needs, brokers can help employers create workplaces where people feel appreciated and understood, leading to stronger retention, recruitment, engagement, and overall well-being.
2. Focus on accessibility
Access to affordable, inclusive healthcare is critical to improving men’s health outcomes. For instance, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men and is more prevalent among Black men. Ensuring your clients’ networks include diverse, representative providers can drive more positive health outcomes.
Encouraging younger men to be proactive about preventive care is also crucial. Though prostate and testicular cancers are often associated with older men, younger generations can be affected, too. Early screenings and conversations with healthcare professionals can save lives.
Perceived cost and inconvenience are among the top reasons preventing men from seeking care. By helping clients offer flexible, accessible options like telehealth services, flexible savings accounts (FSAs), or health savings accounts (HSAs) paired with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), you can remove barriers and empower staff to take control of their health.
3. Partner with a PEO
Brokers can open the door to broader, more impactful benefits for clients by teaming up with a professional employer organization (PEO). These HR outsourcing firms provide access to Fortune 500-level benefits at competitive rates, backed by expert HR and compliance support.
To take this a step further, ExtensisHR offers a comprehensive cancer-specific program designed to prevent, detect, and treat cancer, while also supporting employees emotionally and financially. Plan features include:
- Real-time support from oncology nurses
- Preventive and post-diagnosis DNA testing
- A portal to house medical records, clinical trial information, expenses, and financial aid opportunities
- Hereditary risk screening tests
- Cancer information line
- Cancer support specialists
- An expert pathology review
- An on-site nurse advocate
Additionally, ExtensisHR offers access to an employee assistance program (EAP) that provides 24/7 confidential support for personal and work-related challenges, from short-term counseling to referrals and educational resources.
Supporting men’s health, in Movember and beyond
When it comes to improving men’s health, employee benefits make a substantial difference. With affordable, accessible, and inclusive healthcare options, brokers and their PEO partners can help SMB clients create truly caring workplaces.
ExtensisHR’s Fortune 500-level benefits offerings, paired with its expert benefits administration and management services, are the ultimate tools for supporting men’s health, not just in November, but all year long.
While Movember is underway, highlighting the importance of men’s health has no time limit. Though growing a mustache is a symbolic first step, brokers can have a positive, long-term impact by aligning their clients with a PEO partner.
And remember: the best way to support Movember’s mission is to care for your own health. Schedule your screening today and get tested!
Together, we can help more men live happier, healthier lives. Contact us today to learn more about ExtensisHR’s employee benefits solutions and our broker-friendly philosophy.
