Supporting members after a bereavement improves health outcomes and saves money.
Try our Bereavement Cost Calculator today, to find out what grief is costing you, and what you'll save when you provide grief support to bereaved members.
Grief is expensive.
In addition to the significant human impacts, bereavement leads to increased claims costs that add up quickly, especially in populations 65+.
When a member is bereaved, health insurers — especially those serving older adults — see significant jumps in utilization and costs across multiple claims categories. Research shows that after the death of a loved one, bereaved members experience:
- Higher inpatient hospitalizations: surviving spouses are more likely to be admitted to hospital within 12 months
- Increased ER visits: grief-related stress and untreated depression often drive preventable emergency utilization
- Declines in medication adherence: leading to complications and disease progression
- Greater use of long-term care: bereaved spouses are more likely to enter skilled nursing or assisted living within the first two years
Introducing the Bereavement Cost Calculator
To make these hidden costs visible, we created a simple tool you can use to better understand bereavement’s financial impacts.
Fill in the fields below and we'll calculate projected PMPM increase, the total cost impact of grief when no intervention is provided, and your estimated savings when you provide Help Texts grief support for your bereaved members.
Annual claims costs per member
Cost impact of partner/child loss
Cost impact of other grief as percentage of partner/child loss
Help Texts solution parameters
Bereavement cost impact (people grieving the death of a partner or child)
| Age Group |
Affected Members |
6 Month Cost Impact |
12 Month Cost Impact |
24 Month Cost Impact |
Bereavement cost impact (people grieving other losses)
| Age group |
Affected members |
6 month cost impact |
12 month cost impact |
24 month cost impact |
Help Texts ROI analysis
| Time period |
Total subscribers |
Total program cost |
Total savings |
Net benefit |
ROI |
Estimated annual cost of bereavement
People grieving the death of a partner or child
-
People grieving other losses
-
Total cost impact
-
without intervention
Average PMPM increase
-
without intervention
Estimated savings
-
with Help Texts
Net benefit
-
with Help Texts
Breaking through every barrier to grief support
Sometimes, people question whether text messages can really make a difference in something as profound as grief. But the research is clear: text-based support cuts through traditional barriers to care—from geographic distance to language, stigma, or comfort level with technology or traditional therapy—making expert grief support accessible to everyone. With no waitlist.
95%of family members say Help Texts helped them feel more supported in their grief
76%of family members enroll within the first six months of their loss
90%6 month retention rate
Especially high engagement rates among men and people 65 and older
Support available in
28 languages
Subscribers in
59
countries
