Five community organizations receive grants through Tufts Health Plan employee groups

WATERTOWN, MA – Five diverse community organizations will receive grants to help address the COVID-19 pandemic from Tufts Health Plan Foundation through a program engaging Tufts Health Plan employees in grantmaking. The organizations, with missions ranging from serving people experiencing homelessness to supporting veterans and LGBTQ+ youth, will each receive $10,000 in funding.

“While physical distancing is keeping us apart, our employees are still finding ways to show their commitment to community,” said Tufts Health Plan President and CEO Tom Croswell, who also serves on the Tufts Health Plan Foundation board of directors. “The recipients of these grants are on the front line of this pandemic, helping some of those who have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus. We are immensely grateful to these organizations for working with communities at greatest risk and taking such a lead in this time of crisis.”

These grants were made through a program involving Tufts Health Plan’s five business resource groups (BRGs). Each BRG recommended an organization aligned with its affinity to receive a grant from the Foundation. The Foundation doubled the funding available for this year’s grants, recognizing community organizations need additional resources as they find new ways to deliver services and supports while addressing an increase in demand during the coronavirus pandemic. The organizations include:

• Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, an organization that empowers Asians and new immigrants to build healthy families, achieve greater economic success, and contribute to thriving communities by providing a broad range of programs and services. Recommended by Mosaic, the multicultural BRG.
• The Carroll Center for the Blind, a statewide organization that provides support, including adaptive technologies for distance learning, for people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve independence and lead fulfilling lives. Recommended by Parallel, the disability advocates BRG.
• Crossroads Rhode Island, an organization that helps secure stable homes for people who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk, including youth who identify as LGBTQ+. Recommended by Prism, the LGBTQ and allies BRG.
• New England Center and Home for Veterans, an organization that equips veterans facing or at-risk of homelessness with the tools for economic self-sufficiency and a path to achieve independent living. Recommended by Veterans & Military, the veterans and allies BRG.
• Women’s Lunch Place, a day shelter community, providing nutritious food and individualized services for women who are experiencing homelessness or poverty. Recommended by Women Together, the women and allies BRG.

Tufts Health Plan Foundation has committed an additional $1 million to support organizations responding to the coronavirus crisis. An additional $110,000+ has been donated to community organizations through a 2:1 match program available to employees and board members who donate during the pandemic.

About Tufts Health Plan Foundation
Established in 2008, Tufts Health Plan Foundation supports the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve. The Foundation has given more than $38 million to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island nonprofits that promote healthy living with an emphasis on older people. The Foundation began funding in New Hampshire in 2016 and in Connecticut in 2019. Tufts Health Plan Foundation funds programs that move communities toward implementing age-friendly policies and practices that are relevant, focus on older people, and include them in community solutions. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

About Tufts Health Plan
Tufts Health Plan is nationally recognized for its commitment to providing innovative, high-quality health care coverage. Staying true to our mission of improving the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve, we touch the lives of more than 1.16 million members in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut through employer-sponsored plans; Medicare; Medicaid and Marketplace plans, offering health insurance coverage across the life span regardless of age or circumstance. We are continually among the top health plans in the country based on quality and member satisfaction. Our Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO and Senior Care Options plans received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the highest rating possible.* Our commercial HMO/POS and Massachusetts PPO plans are rated 5 out of 5 – the highest rating possible – by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).** Our Medicaid plan is rated 4.5 out of a possible 5.***

To learn more about how we’re redefining what a health plan can do, visit www.tuftshealthplan.com/whatwedo. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

*Every year, Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-Star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next. For more information on plan ratings, go to www.medicare.gov. Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO plans received 5 out of 5 stars for contract years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.

**NCQA’s Private Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2019–2020.

***NCQA’s Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2019-2020.