The
Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s
largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights
organization, today released a white paper titled: Transgender-Inclusive Health Care Coverage and the Corporate Equality Index, a
resource for employers to make their workplaces more equitable for
transgender employees. The white paper is an educational tool for
employers engaged in the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey on policies and benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees.
In 2009 HRC announced that earning 100 percent on the 2012 CEI requires
employers to offer at least one firm-wide available health insurance
plan that affords coverage for medically necessary transition-related
care. The internationally accepted standards of care are maintained and
published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health
(WPATH). Other criteria changes that went into effect in 2012 are
available at www.hrc.org/cei. The white paper is available at www.hrc.org/transbenefits.
“Corporate America is leading the charge for fairness for LGBT
workers,” said Kathryn Friedman, director of the HRC Workplace Project.
“To attract and retain the best and brightest talent, employers must
treat their LGBT employees equally, including in the administration of
health care benefits. Our new white paper will give employers the tools
they need to offer equal benefits and stay on pace with other
fair-minded companies. This resource represents over three years of our
groundbreaking work in the area of successfully advocating for, and
implementing inclusive plan options for transgender employees.”
The 2012 HRC Corporate Equality Index, released in December, rated 850
companies, including the entire Fortune 500. The CEI is the foremost
method for businesses to evaluate their diversity and inclusion efforts
toward recruiting and retaining LGBT employees, customers and
investors. The first CEI in 2002 had just 13 businesses earning a
perfect rating, but by the recent 2012 report reflective of the most
stringent criteria to date, 189 Fortune-ranked and other major employers
earned a 100 percent score and the distinction of being among the “Best
Places to Work for LGBT Equality.”
Transgender-Inclusive Health Care Coverage and the Corporate Equality Index
is a primer on transgender-inclusive health care coverage, including
relevant concepts and vocabulary as well as specific guidance on meeting
the CEI criteria.