On June 17, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies across the nation joined in a pledge to stand united against racism, hate and discrimination. Read the full pledge and our commitments to action here.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will engage in community events and discussions in order to understand what we can do to end systemic racism. This begins within our own company. On June 12, Blue Cross President & CEO Daniel J. Loepp, along with executive leadership, hosted a listening session with employees to discuss racial injustice. Forty employees across the organization participated to help expand awareness and understanding of this critical topic. The discussion was facilitated by Blue Cross’ Diversity & Inclusion division. On June 18, they will host a Town Hall where executives and employees will join together for a dialogue on the racial tensions spanning the nation. Our Diversity & Inclusion division also hosts more than 200 learning sessions and experiential volunteer opportunities to engage employees in learning and acting on a variety of topics throughout the year. We’re proud of our 10 Employee Resource Networks, which were created to support our commitment to an inclusive workplace and bring together employees who have a common interest to learn, engage and serve as allies. We’re here to assist our partners and neighbors across Michigan through this time of reflection and action. Together with people in our diverse communities, we’ve tackled tough issues before – like the opioid crisis. We started by listening to concerns and then joined a public-private partnership that committed $5 million to fund solutions. We’ve also made addressing health disparities a priority. We’ve brought local leaders, advocates, agencies and members of faith-based organizations together to discuss common health disparities and empower individuals to take control of their overall wellness – and are actively funding COVID-19 mobile testing units aimed at removing barriers in access to tests. Moving forward, we will continue to support and engage in forums that further the conversation and lead to change such as the Michigan chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Health Services Executives, Michigan Diversity Council and most recently the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities.
