Gateway Health Introduces New Playbook To Address Racial Inequality

Gateway Health Plan, Inc. (“Gateway Health”), a leading managed care organization dedicated to caring for the “total health” of its members, announced its new playbook to address inequality in the Black community.

According to the 2019 “Pittsburgh’s Inequality across Gender and Race” report, Pittsburgh is considerably less livable for Black men and the most unlivable city for Black women – especially when it comes to health and employment outcomes. Pittsburgh is in the bottom 15 percent of cities for Black employment.

Over the past several months, Cain A. Hayes, President and Chief Executive Officer at Gateway Health, and other leaders across the company, have developed 10 commitments that will guide Gateway Health on its journey of becoming a more diverse and inclusive company while also making an impact in the communities it serves.

“With our sense of service and mission at our core, I’m pleased to formally announce Gateway Health’s new playbook to address racial inequality,” said Hayes. “While the everyday work we do helps build a better community around us, we need to do more to drive real change to support Black communities. It’s time for Gateway Health to lead by example. We believe this playbook – which focuses on a few distinct areas, including our people, business operations and community partners – drives impactful change in the communities we serve.”

The 10 commitments* of Gateway Health’s new playbook are as follows:

1. The first commitment will work to ensure the Executive Leadership Team reflects the diversity of the membership it serves and aspires to a 25% representation of Black executives by the end of 2021.
2. Second, will work to ensure Gateway Health’s associates in Director and above level roles reflects the diversity of the membership it serves and aspires to a 25% representation of Black executives by the end of 2022.¹
3. In order to ensure those businesses who Gateway Health works with share its philosophy, it will establish diversity goals for all vendors providing services to Gateway Health of which racial diversity will be a component.
4. An all new Internship Program will be developed at Gateway Health. This internship will specifically target Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Pennsylvania colleges/universities, including community colleges.
   1. Through this, Gateway Health will develop partnerships with organizations dedicated to increasing the pipeline of Black candidates.
   2. Gateway Health will fund $1 million in scholarships over 10 years. The scholarships will target a local college/university with an emphasis on attracting Black students from impoverished areas that want to pursue a career at Gateway Health. Recipients will also be eligible to participate in the HBCU Internship Program at Gateway Health.
5. Go above and beyond Gateway Health’s Small Diverse Business commitments by increasing the overall funds it plans to spend with Black-owned businesses.
6. Strengthen Gateway Health’s care management programs that are specifically tailored to the unique health inequities and disparities faced by the Black community. This goal aims to align with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ ongoing focus on addressing racial disparities in the communities it serves.
7. Create a diversity and inclusion metric directly tied to compensation bonus payouts.
8. Require all associates to complete an annual Unconscious Bias training. This requirement will officially start in 2021.
9. Target at least 25% of its charitable giving towards organizations that specifically address the challenges faced by impoverished Black communities.
10. And, for the final commitment, Gateway Health will develop a mentorship program for high potential and high performing associates within the organization, including components focused on Black and other underrepresented groups. This program will build and develop skills that will ultimately lead to new opportunities.

Hayes added, “We are on a new journey and it requires real action. We firmly believe these are the right steps to take in order to accelerate long-term change while building a support system for Black communities.”

Gateway Health has a long-standing commitment to providing an environment where individual differences are accepted, welcomed and embraced. The company was recently awarded the Multicultural Health Care Distinction by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).  Multicultural Health Care Distinction is a nationally recognized evaluation that purchasers, regulators and consumers can use to assess which organizations have earned distinction by meeting rigorous standards in serving a diverse population.

*Please note that as Gateway works to increase the diversity of its workforce to better reflect and support the communities it serves, all related activities will be conducted in compliance with applicable law, including state and federal employment law, and contractual obligations.