The Corporate Equality Index (CEI)

I’m not a big fan of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), but one thing that they seem to be getting right is their Corporate Equality Index. I say “seems” because in their 2013 criteria they require surgery for trans-employees in order to get a 100%.

Corporate Equality Index Rating Criteria

1a Prohibits Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation (15 points)

1b Prohibits Discrimination Based on Gender Identity or Expression (15 points)

2a Offers Partner Health/Medical Insurance (15 points)

2b Has Parity Across Other “Soft” Benefits for Partners (10 points)
(half credit for parity across some, but not all benefits)

2c Offers Transgender-Inclusive Health Insurance Coverage (10 points)

3a Firm-wide Organizational Competency Programs (10 points)

3b Has Employer-Supported Employee Resource Group
OR Firm-Wide Diversity Council (10 points)
Would Support ERG if Employees Express Interest (half credit)

4 Positively Engages the External LGBT Community (15 points)
(partial credit of 5 points given for less than 3 efforts)

5 Responsible Citizenship Employers will have 25 points deducted
from their score for a large-scale official or public anti-LGBT blemish
on their recent records (-25 points)

If you notice they include Transgender-Inclusive Health Insurance Coverage, so what does that cover?

c. Transgender-inclusive health insurance coverage 1O points
Equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for
medically necessary care

• Insurance contract explicitly affirms coverage and contains no blanket exclusions for coverage
• Insurance contract and/or policy documentation is based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care
• Plan documentation must be readily available to employees and must clearly communicate inclusive insurance options to employees and their eligible dependents.
• Benefits available to other employees must extend to transgender individuals. The following benefits should extend to transgender individuals, including for services related to gender transition (e.g., medically necessary services related to sex affirmation/ reassignment):

• Short-term medical leave
• Mental health benefits
• Pharmaceutical coverage (e.g., for hormone replacement therapies)
• Coverage for medical visits or laboratory services
• Coverage for reconstructive surgical procedures related to sex reassignment
• Coverage of routine, chronic or urgent non-transition services
• Plan language ensuring “adequacy of network” or access to specialists should extend to transition-related care (including provisions for travel or other expense reimbursements)

So how many received a 100%?

Last year, 189 major businesses accomplished a 100 percent rating on the most stringent
scorecard the HRC Foundation has ever administered, including comprehensive benefits
parity and more robust requirements of corporate responsibility to our community. It is with
great pride and privilege that I announce an incredible 252 businesses that are receiving a
perfect score this year.

And that “42% of this year’s rated businesses afford transgender-inclusive health care coverage options through at least one firm-wide plan.” So it seems that the changes that the HRC made is bring about change.

But something interesting is happening now that there is insurance coverage from GRS. Many of the doctors who perform GRS are out-of-network providers and are not providing the insurance companies the necessary information for billing. Or if they are providing the information to the insurance companies that are charging for that information.