Employee Assistance Programs, or EAPs, are easily defined as benefit programs that are designed to help employees navigate life circumstances that might impact their job performance, health, and well-being. For the past three years (2012-2014), hundreds of unique agencies across the country awarded vendors with EAP contracts. 36% of these awards were issued by city agencies, while state agencies represented just 7% of awards. Counties and school districts accounted for the bulk of the rest at 57%.
EAP Programs by Population Served
The average population of cities, counties and towns that awarded the 380 EAP contracts was 300,000 people, though this is skewed by large cities such as Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles. Looking at the awarding agencies by population served in more detail revealed a median population of 110,000 people.
Interestingly, only four of the top 10 cities by population served in the nation had awards specifically for EAP solutions over the three year period – indicating that larger cities are either purchasing EAP as part of other benefits packages secured under larger, comprehensive contracts or they are securing multi-year contracts where no new awards were published in 2012 – 2014.
Education Agencies Lead EAP Awards
Looking at the sum of activity in the EAP sector, most of the term contracts awarded by state and local agencies for EAP services have 2-3 year expiration cycles. Onvia data confirms that a full 50% of the contracts awarded for EAP services over the last three years are coming up for renewal in the next two years.
Most of the awards were granted by those agencies described as “general purpose” – the general city, county or state administrative office. However, 28% of the awards were awarded by educational institutions, indicating that school districts have a higher appetite for EAP services than other types of agencies on average.
Vendors looking for expiring EAP contracts coming up for renewal soon can request a free demo of Onvia’s Term Contract Center.
Top EAP Vendors
The top five vendors by volume of activity (not necessarily award value) in state, local and education market for EAP term contracts from 2012 – 2014 are:
| Top 5 Vendors Selling EAP Directly to SLED Agencies |
|---|
| ComPsych |
| Deer Oaks |
| ESI |
| Cigna |
| Magellan |
Takeaways
EAP contract award volume for the full year 2014 is expected to settle in the same range as 2012 and 2013 volumes, presenting a relatively consistent volume of contracting opportunities paired with transparent term contract expiration schedules on many contracts. Because larger cities appear to be procuring EAP services as part of bigger, consolidated contracts, EAP providers or EAP consulting services may find the greatest opportunities in cities and towns with populations between 100,000 and 300,000 as well as public school districts who are active purchasers of EAP solutions.
EAP vendors selling into state and local agencies who are looking for current and upcoming opportunities are encouraged to check out Onvia’s Project Center and Term Contract Center.
