Lafayette schools remain with Florida Blue at no increase

Danny Federico

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Lafayette County School District employees will not see any increase in health insurance rates for the 2026-27 school year after the school board voted on Tuesday, Aug. 18, during its regular monthly meeting, to remain with Florida Blue.

“This year is a lot better news than last year,” said Lance Braswell, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Agency Manager.

The board considered proposals from Florida Blue and UnitedHealthcare, as well as a possible switch to a self-funded plan through the Florida Educator Health Trust (FLEHT). However, according to Braswell, UnitedHealthcare’s proposal was about 16% higher, roughly $20,000 per month, than Florida Blue’s renewal.

“Florida Blue came back with a level renewal — no increase,” Braswell Said.

He added that he had hoped for a rate decrease, but told board members Florida Blue instead agreed to keep rates level and include Proshare. With this agreement, Braswell said, the district could receive some of its premium payments back if it ends the year with very low claims.

“As much as I wanted a decrease, I felt like a level renewal with the Proshare is a good middle ground for us,” Braswell said. “I am confident that our claims will continue to get better … We’ve had a rough six or seven years with claims, and we are seeing a big decrease and a very good trend for the future. So I’m excited about what the next year or two will bring.”

According to Braswell, claims began declining significantly after October, with some months running between 20% and 40% of the premiums paid. He added that the district’s claims would need to remain below approximately 60% over 12 months before it could potentially receive money back.

He attributed part of the decline to several employees with high insurance usage leaving the district’s plan after qualifying for other coverage. Braswell also said current participants continue to use their insurance and did not believe the decline was caused by employees avoiding medical care because of higher deductibles or copayments.

“The people who are on the plan are still using it,” Braswell said. “It’s just we had some folks come off that had been using the plan a lot.”

The school board had also considered moving to a self-funded plan through FLEHT. Under that model, the district would assume a more direct responsibility for employee claims while using stop-loss insurance to limit its exposure to unusually large expenses.

“Our job, from FADSS (Florida Association of District School Superintendents), is to tell you what we believe is the right thing for the district, regardless of the timeline of coming to FLEHT or not,” Ted Roush, executive director of FLEHT, said to the board. “Going self-insured is heavily reliant on timing. As Lance said, you’ve had some periods of time with some really, really bad claims years with some really, really bad spikes. And that trend line is starting to come down.”

He stated an actuarial analysis produced a “very, very conservative self-funded plan” that would have increased the district’s costs this year. Roush added that self-funding could still provide advantages over a five- to seven-year period, but acknowledged that Lafayette County would benefit from waiting until it had a stronger claims history.

“The self-insured route is still the right way to go for the long term, but the timing is everything,” he said. “Your best bet this year, in my opinion, is to take that flat renewal with that Proshare agreement with Florida Blue.”

He added that the district could reconsider FLEHT next year if its claims continue improving, allowing district staff, Braswell and FLEHT officials to develop a more realistic self-funded option with protections against unusually expensive claims.

Rebecca Sharpe, a district administrator, said employees supported staying with Florida Blue after learning a move to the self-funded option could increase costs by roughly 33%.

Tammi Maund, another administrator, told board members the district currently has slightly more than 100 employees enrolled in its health insurance plans out of a workforce of about 160. Braswell added that most employees who do not participate receive insurance through a spouse employed by the state.

Following the discussion, board members unanimously approved the Florida Blue plans for the 2026-27 school year.

The next regular meeting of the Lafayette County School Board will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, in the school district administration building, located at 363 N.E. Crawford St., in Mayo.