A behavioral health medical director for Cigna Corporation’s health services business Evernorth, Dr Luis Torres has been selected to join CEO Action for a year-long fellowship which begins this month. Based in Florida, Dr. Torres will be working alongside some of the world’s leading companies towards addressing racial injustice at national, state and local levels.
- Fellowship taps biz leaders to address health inequalities
The CEO Action for Racial Equity Fellowship taps businesses and their leaders to identify and address health inequalities at the state and local level through policy change and advocacy. The fellowship is a unique, business-led initiative which mobilizes CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion signatory organizations to advance policy changes at multiple levels. Cigna, Evernorth’s parent company, has been a signatory since 2017. - ‘I am passionate towards driving equality’
Recounting his experience as someone who grew up into a Hispanic community of Puerto Rico, Dr. Torres said, “I grew up in a low-income, Hispanic community in Puerto Rico, where I saw and experienced inequities based on race and socioeconomic background… Because of my background and 20 years of experience as a behavioral health physician, I understand the different layers of disparities my patients face and am passionate about advancing equity to create better health outcomes.” - Torres’s long association with Cigna
The relationship between Dr. Torres and Cigna started back in 2017. He has been serving as a lead medical director within the behavioral health unit of Evernorth. Apart from his association with Evernorth, he is the founder and CEO of a private health practice too. - Cigna’s focus on health disparities
Cigna, for over a decade, has been working to identify and address health disparities in order to improve health equity among customers and workforce. It has tied up with the Hispanic Services Council to provide health and wellness education to Hispanic communities in the Tampa Bay area and supports the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Ministries through a Cigna Foundation grant to help people with food, rent and utilities assistance. - Dr. Torres is second awardee from Cigna
Dr. Torres is Cigna’s second fellow for CEO Action. During the first year of Cigna’s participation in the programme, over 375 ideas were generated in the fellowship to address gaps in four key areas of societal well-being: Economic empowerment, education, health care and public safety. After a rigorous selection process, a final portfolio of eight policies and three social contracts were selected for implementation.
