District staff recommend exploring pooled health trust; stop‑loss revision tied to participation

Assistant Superintendent Doctor Hale and district benefits staff presented an engagement letter to begin evaluating participation in the Florida Educational Health Trust (referred to in the meeting as "Fleet"). Staff described Fleet as a pooled risk‑sharing program where larger membership creates bargaining leverage for pharmacy and stop‑loss contracts and can produce premium savings for member districts.

Doctor Hale characterized Fleet as a potential “game changer” for the district’s health benefits program and explained that full participation requires compatible stop‑loss coverage and a healthy district claims profile. “You have to be highly rated … you have to be self funded,” staff said. The presentation tied the stop‑loss insurance revision (agenda item 7.37) to the district’s ability to enter Fleet’s risk‑sharing layer; staff noted the district would not move into Fleet’s risk pool until the current stop‑loss contract sunsets or is revised to align with Fleet requirements.

Board discussion: members praised the district benefits team’s prior work moving to self‑insurance, asked about fees and payback timelines, and noted the public‑facing question of risk vs. reward. One board member observed that potential stop‑loss savings might offset the initial fee to join Fleet, saying that if stop‑loss revisions produce enough savings they could cover the enrollment fee.

Next steps: staff will present the stop‑loss revision (7.37) later in the meeting and proceed with an engagement letter to evaluate contracts and projections; no final commitment to join Fleet was approved during the workshop.

Provenance: presentation and Q&A on agenda item 7.17 and references to agenda item 7.37 linking stop‑loss changes to Fleet participation.