Tufts Health Plan Earns Highest Rating Possible in 2019 Corporate Equality Index

WATERTOWN, Mass., March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tufts Health Plan received a perfect score on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation's premier benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. Tufts Health Plan is among of 560 major U.S. businesses that earned top marks this year.

"Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and for our members is not just the right thing to do, it is the human thing to do," said Lydia Greene, Tufts Health Plan senior vice president and chief human resources officer. "I'm proud to work at a company that is so collaborative, inclusive, creative and welcoming to all. It truly is an honor to receive this distinction from the Human Rights Campaign as it reflects our company values and recognizes the work we do to promote an inclusive environment."

Tufts Health Plan took on a number of initiatives in 2018 related to the LGBTQ community in an effort to build a more inclusive environment for its members and employees. Spearheaded by Prism, the company's LGBTQ business resource group (BRG), the initiatives included:

• Training more than 400 member-facing staff in transgender health and the comprehensive range of available coverage options.
• Creating "gender neutral" bathrooms, documented with signage and accompanied by an announcement to all employees about the rationale for this change.
• Speaking with attendees and leading a workshop on transgender services at the First Event Conference, sponsored by the Trans Club of New England, a long-standing conference for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.

"The top-scoring companies on this year's CEI are not only establishing policies that affirm and include employees here in the United States, they are applying these policies to their global operations and impacting millions of people beyond our shores," said HRC president Chad Griffin. "Many of these companies have also become vocal advocates for equality in the public square, including the dozens that have signed on to amicus briefs in vital Supreme Court cases and the more than 170 that have joined HRC's Business Coalition for the Equality Act. Time and again, leading American businesses have shown that protecting their employees and customers from discrimination isn't just the right thing to do -- it's also good for business."

The 2019 CEI evaluates LGBTQ-related policies and practices including non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs and public engagement with the LGBTQ community. Tufts Health Plan's efforts in satisfying all of the CEI's criteria results in a 100 percent ranking and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

For more information on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the report, visit www.hrc.org/cei. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

About Tufts Health Plan
Tufts Health Plan is nationally recognized for its commitment to providing innovative, high-quality health care coverage.  Staying true to our mission of improving the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve, we touch the lives of more than 1.16 million members in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire through employer-sponsored plans; Medicare; Medicaid and Marketplace plans, offering health insurance coverage across the life span regardless of age or circumstance. We are continually among the top health plans in the country based on quality and member satisfaction. Our Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO and Senior Care Options plans received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the highest rating possible.ⁱ

To learn more about how we're redefining what a health plan can do, visit www.tuftshealthplan.com/whatwedo.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

ⁱEvery year, Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-Star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next. For more information on plan ratings, go to www.medicare.gov. Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO plans received 5 out of 5 stars for contract years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

Contact: Kathleen Makelakathleen_makela@tufts-health.com
857-304-8293

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SOURCE Tufts Health Plan