CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Recognized as a Global Ethical Leader for 12th Consecutive Year
The company is one of four health insurance companies to be named a World’s Most Ethical Company Honoree® in 2024.
Baltimore/Washington, D.C. – CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), one of the country's largest not-for-profit healthcare organizations, has been recognized by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2024 World’s Most Ethical Companies®. This year’s honor marks the 12th consecutive year CareFirst has been recognized for its commitment to high ethical business standards and practices.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized as a World’s Most Ethical Companies® for the twelfth year in a row,” said Brian D. Pieninck, President and CEO of CareFirst. “This recognition highlights our dedication to conducting business with integrity while affirming our commitment to advancing affordable, accessible and equitable care for our members and communities across the country.”
As a 12-time honoree and one of only four companies representing the health insurance industry, CareFirst is honored to stand alongside the 136 organizations spanning 20 countries and 144 industries. The designation recognizes strong corporate culture, business integrity and industry leadership in accountability, transparency and corporate social responsibility, all of which are core values of CareFirst and guide the company’s mission to advance high-quality, affordable, accessible and equitable healthcare services for the people and communities it serves.
In compiling this year’s list of World’s Most Ethical Companies®, nominees were scored in five key categories and subcategories which were updated with input from experts and ever-changing best practices. These categories include:
· Ethics and compliance program
· Corporate governance
· Culture of ethics
· Environmental and societal impact
· Leadership and reputation
“Companies that elevate best-in-class cultures of ethics and integrity set a standard for corporate citizenship for their peers and competitors to follow,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, Ethisphere’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair. “Earning this recognition for 12 consecutive years is no easy feat and demonstrates the commitment of CareFirst to advance their programs to align with best-in-class practices. Congratulations to CareFirst for achieving this honor and demonstrating that strong ethics is good business.”
Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World’s Most Ethical Companies® assessment process includes more than 240 questions on culture; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices; ethics and compliance activities; diversity, equity and inclusion; and initiatives that support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the world. The full list of the 2024 World's Most Ethical Companies® can be found here.
About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
In its 86th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit healthcare company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.5 million individuals and employers in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2022, CareFirst invested $24.1 million to improve overall health, and increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of healthcare throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit www.carefirst.com.
About Ethisphere
Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that strengthen corporate brands, build trust in the marketplace, deliver business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies build strong cultures of ethics and integrity. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere also advances business performance through data-driven assessments, guidance, and benchmarking against its unparalleled data: the Culture Quotient dataset reflecting the ethical business practices of 3+ million employees around the world; and the Ethics Quotient dataset, featuring 240+ data points on the ethics, compliance, social, and governance practices of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit https://ethisphere.com.