Point32Health ethics program

At Point32Health, we believe it is important to discuss the ethical challenges surrounding complex health system issues. To our knowledge, we are unique among health plans to formally prioritize such conversations.

More than 25 years ago, Point32Health company Harvard Pilgrim Health Care established an organizational ethics program to help:

• Identify and address the ethical dimensions of key policy, operational and budgetary decisions
• Demonstrate an active concern with ethical issues
• Address ethical issues in a changing health system and a morally diverse society

This program continues today to support Point32Health in managing our values-based work and to lead the way in addressing ethical health system and coverage issues locally and nationally.

The ethics program centers around quarterly ethics deliberations that engage Point32Health colleagues, network clinicians, employers, brokers, members, invited topic experts and representatives of the public.

Leaders in the organization request the ethics deliberations group’s input on timely, complex topics that are thoroughly researched and objectively summarized by a health policy researcher trained in bioethics. Recent deliberations have addressed ethical issues related to fertility care, pre-implantation genetic testing, gender-affirming care, weight management medications and more. These deliberations provide a format and structure for open discussion, with the intent to answer at least one of the following questions:

• What is the ethical issue in this situation?
• What do constituents view as the right thing to do, given diverse values and perspectives?
• What is the most ethical way to do it?
• What ethical challenges can we foresee arising in the future?
• What can we learn from actions in the past?

The discussions are guided by Point32Health’s mission and values, our external stakeholders’ values and external expectations for the organization. Importantly, the suggestions emerging from the discussions are advisory only.

Learn more about the ethics deliberations from reports of recent discussions.

• Food is Medicine
• Medications for Weight Management
• Insurance Coverage of Preimplantation Genetic Testing
• Affordability of New Therapies
• Fertility Care
• Speaking Out About Social Issues

If you have questions or want to learn more about Point32Health ethics deliberations, please email us at [email protected].