Men's Health

So… what about the men?
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about women’s health—and for good reason. But the question keeps coming up:
What about the men?
The reality is, the men aren’t alright either.

Conversations around employee health often focus on access, cost, and outcomes—but there’s a growing gap hiding in plain sight. One segment of the workforce is consistently less likely to seek care, less likely to use the benefits available to them, and more likely to experience poorer health outcomes as a result. That group is men.

One of the biggest challenges is that men are simply not seeking care in a timely way. Data shows that 65% of men wait more than six days before seeing a doctor when symptoms appear, and more than a quarter wait over a month. Nearly half have not seen a physician when they should have. These delays matter. Many of the leading causes of premature death in men, including cancer and heart disease, can be significantly reduced with early screening and preventative care. The trade-off here is clear: delay today often means higher cost, worse outcomes, and more disruption tomorrow.

But even for those who are willing to seek care, access is a real barrier. In Canada, millions of adults don’t have a regular primary care provider, and even those who do often struggle to get timely appointments. Men are also less likely than women to use alternatives like virtual care. So where do they turn instead? Increasingly, they’re going online and to AI. The Canadian Medical Association conducts an annual Media Tracking Survey which found that about half of Canadians are using AI to help with health-related questions, despite the fact that those who follow that advice are significantly more likely to experience harms. In fact 64% of Cdns who used AI for health care encountered false or misleading info and when they do. The survey found that 49% of people reported they became more skeptical of the medical advice from their own health care providers. That’s bad as it impacts health outcomes for men.

Interestingly, even when care is available through an employer-sponsored benefit plan, men aren’t using it to the same extent as women. Across services like paramedical practitioners, mental health supports, and employee assistance programs, utilization is consistently lower among men. That’s despite the fact that men face significant health challenges, including disproportionately high rates of suicide and untreated mental health concerns. So the issue isn’t just access—it’s engagement. Barriers like stigma, low health literacy, and environments that don’t feel relevant or welcoming all play a role.

For employers, this creates a set of very real tradeoffs. You can offer comprehensive coverage, but if employees don’t use it, the intended outcomes - better health, lower absenteeism, and improved productivity won’t materialize. So what can be done?

First, improving access to care remains foundational. Offering virtual care, health navigation services, and even onsite screening clinics can make it easier for employees to engage earlier. Flexibility also matters. Allowing time for appointments or creating more adaptable schedules can remove one of the most practical barriers to accessing care. Flexibility in the benefits is important too. Even just $100 in a healthcare or taxable spending account can offer meaningful options for alternative coverage. 

Second, the plan design needs to feel relevant. That might mean expanding coverage to include therapies and treatments that directly impact men’s health, whether that’s support for conditions like erectile dysfunction, migraines, or hormone therapy, or more personalized approaches like pharmacogenomic testing. If employees don’t see themselves reflected in the plan, they are less likely to use it.

As always, communication plays a big role. If nearly 90% of Canadians are already going online for health information, employers have an opportunity to meet them where they are. Some social platforms offer internal versions for employers. Meeting folks where they are also means using simple, relatable language, delivering information in small and frequent bursts, and focusing on clarity over complexity.  Removing the mystery around using a service is a great place to start with communication. When people know what to expect when they use a service, they are more likely to engage. Today, improving health literacy isn’t just a nice to have, it’s a critical lever in helping employees take action. 

​At the end of the day, this isn’t only a conversation about men’s health. It’s a broader conversation about how benefit plans are designed, communicated, and ultimately used. Because a benefit plan only delivers value when employees engage with it. And that leads to a final question worth considering: are your benefits supporting the people who need them most, or just the ones who already know how to use them?