Florida Blue again named a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Blue, the leading health insurer in Florida, earned a score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) survey for initiatives to support employees with mental health and caregiving programs while at the same time providing more than $1.5 million in charitable donations to programs that support people with disabilities.

Top-scoring businesses are recognized as Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion. Florida Blue was among 139 companies nationally to receive a score of 100, which it has received all six years the survey has been conducted. In 2017, the company received the Employer of the Year award. The survey is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN.

The DEI is a benchmarking tool for Fortune 1000 companies to gauge their level of disability workplace inclusion against competitors. In 2020, 247 corporations utilized the survey to benchmark their disability inclusion efforts. It is embraced by both business leaders and disability advocates.

"We firmly believe that an inclusive workforce of people with disabilities increases our understanding of each other and our customers," said Florida Blue CEO Pat Geraghty. "It strengthens our ability to learn from one another and ultimately enables us to deliver on our mission to help people and communities achieve better health. This recognition is very meaningful to us at Florida Blue."

Some of the company's achievements and initiatives in the past year include:

• The organization's Mental Health Collaborative became a full-fledged employee community with the goal of bringing awareness to mental and emotional health while providing support and resources for all team members.
• Florida Blue added a caregiving employee engagement committee to support people with disabilities to provide ongoing education, awareness and support within the workforce and community to build a more inclusive environment.
• Florida Blue and the Florida Blue Foundation awarded a total of $1,565,750 in charitable donations to organizations that support people with disabilities, including $300,000 each to Hope Haven and Central Florida Speech and Hearing Center, and $400,000 to Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The survey measured culture and leadership; enterprise-wide access; employment practices including benefits, recruitment, employment, education, retention and advancement, and accommodations; community engagement; supplier diversity; and non-U.S. operations.

A score of 100 on the DEI means that a company adheres to many of the numerous leading disability inclusion practices featured in the DEI. The benchmarking tool was developed in consultation with the appointed DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse and voluntary group of experts in disability advocacy, business, and policy.

About Florida Blue

Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, has been providing health insurance to residents of Florida for 75 years. Driven by its mission of helping people and communities achieve better health, the company serves more than 5 million health care members across the state. In total, Florida Blue and its affiliated companies serve 27 million people in 35 states. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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SOURCE Florida Blue