One-third of the Fortune 500 and over half of the CEI universe of businesses offer transgender-inclusive health care coverage, up from 0 in 2002 and nearly ten times as many businesses as five years ago;
Kaiser Permanente is one of them, of course, and every doctor should be part of a health system that is also. One day they will be.
Having 100% on the Corporate Equality Index doesn’t guarantee freedom from bias; it creates a beacon/example for other organizations and people. It’s important to remember that in the majority of States of the United States (29), you can be fired from your job simply because you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. This is only one less state than last year. (see: A perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index again for 2014 | Ted Eytan, MD)
This year, Kaiser Permanente is 1 of just 366 companies who earned 100%. Last year, it was one of 303. As I mentioned two years ago (see: What it means to earn a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index | Ted Eytan, MD):
There are a lot of other companies in this year’s index that earned a 100% score, and there were a lot that earned a 0% score.
Being 100% in terms of providing equal opportunity within the workplace and demonstrating support in the community for all is where I’d like to be, because Equality equals Health.
Thanks to the team in Kaiser Permanente’s National Diversity and Inclusion organization who do so much to promote health through their work.