Ethisphere Institute Names Health Care Service Corporation a 2019 World's Most Ethical Company

HCSC Recognized for Its Commitment to a Culture of Ethics and Compliance, Including Training New Managers on Ethics Conversations

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Health Care Service Corporation

Feb 26, 2019, 08:00 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2019 World's Most Ethical Company®. HCSC was honored for its comprehensive ethics strategy, including its new manager ethics communication training, ethics and compliance employee ambassador program and its commitment to ethics and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

"Our ability to retain our members' trust and our reputation of excellence is directly aligned with our employees' commitment to integrity," said Tom Lubben, senior vice president and chief ethics, compliance and privacy officer, HCSC. "We evolve our ethics programs based on employee feedback. A key insight we received is that employees feel most comfortable confiding ethics concerns to their managers."

In 2018, HCSC established the Regulatory Compliance Management Certification (RCMC) training program to equip new managers with the tools needed to facilitate discussions with their direct reports about ethics and compliance issues. In addition to the RCMC initiative, HCSC is continuing its Ethics and Compliance Ambassador program, engaging nearly 100 management volunteers. These volunteers serve as liaisons for the Ethics and Compliance department across the company.

HCSC incorporates Ethical Behavior ratings into employees' annual reviews to measure and promote positive ethical behavior. In addition to internal metrics, HCSC continued its "Speak Up" campaign, which uses web-based training, in-person events and videos to highlight the steps employees should follow to report an integrity question or concern.

The Ethisphere Institute also noted HCSC's commitment to advancing an inclusive workplace that is reflective of the diverse communities served. Sixty-one percent of HCSC's management positions are held by women and 33 percent are held by people of color, illustrating the company's dedication to advance diverse talent.

The Ethisphere Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. The World's Most Ethical Companies program honors companies that excel in three areas: ethical business standards and practices, enabling managers and employees to make good choices and shaping future industry standards by introducing tomorrow's best practices today. In 2019, 128 honorees were recognized, spanning 21 countries and 50 industries.

"Today, employees, investors and stakeholders are putting their greatest trust in companies to take leadership on societal issues. Companies that take the long view with a purpose-based strategy are proven to not only outperform but last," said Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at HCSC for earning this recognition."

The full list of the 2019 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://www.worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees/. More information on HCSC's approach to ethics and compliance can be found at http://www.hcsc.com/our-impact/ethics.

About Health Care Service Corporation
Health Care Service Corporation is the country's largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall, with more than 15 million members in its health plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. A Mutual Legal Reserve Company, HCSC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, please visit HCSC.com, visit our Facebook page or follow us at Twitter.

About the Ethisphere Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

SOURCE Health Care Service Corporation