The health plan of the Osceola School District in Central Florida covers 6,500 employees, including teachers and support staff. The district saved $21 million over two years by following price transparency healthcare reforms, resulting in more money for classrooms, pay raises for teachers, and better-quality care at a far lower price. These savings amount to a roughly 30% reduction in the district’s annual healthcare budget, putting its health fund on a sustainable path well into the future. 

The district achieved these savings by bringing in an independent health plan administrator who works on a transparent fee and does not receive cuts and kickbacks to manage the plan. This transparent administrator eliminated the health insurance middlemen apparatus that passively skims money on every transaction and is responsible to shareholders, not the health plan. 

In its place, the administrator set up transparent, direct contracts and partnerships with local hospitals. It partnered with RosenCare, a price transparent healthcare service in the area, as well as other imaging centers and providers that offer fair prices and are responsive to the district, not third parties. 

The district also activated its own in-house health center to proactively focus on preventative care and use data to address health conditions before they become more complex and expensive to treat. It hired an independent pharmacy benefits manager with transparent pricing to manage prescription drugs and purchase medications from less expensive international sources. 

In addition to teacher pay raises and more money for classrooms, the district’s significant health plan savings have allowed employees to enjoy better quality care at far lower out-of-pocket prices. Employees enjoy no copays, premium holidays, and the peace of mind that their healthcare costs won’t continue rising. Their easy access to primary, preventative care allows them to identify and treat health conditions before they worsen. 

Every employer can enjoy similar savings of 30% to 50% on their healthcare costs for their businesses and employees by moving from the passively run, opaque status quo to an actively run, transparent, and direct health plan alternative.