Politics
Scott Matthews: Keeping patients healthy keeps Central Florida working
When I took on a leadership role at the Orlando Chamber of Commerce, I understood the mission clearly: help Central Florida businesses thrive. After years of working alongside entrepreneurs, manufacturers and service providers across this region, I’ve come to appreciate that a healthy workforce is a productive one.
Lately, that path has gotten more difficult. Employers are bracing for an expected 6.7% rise in health benefit costs and weighing whether to raise employee premiums.
When I talk to peers running businesses across Orlando, I hear the same impossible choice: absorb the increase and cut into margins, pass it to employees or scale back benefits altogether.
None of these options supports employees’ need to stay healthy.
More than 1,500 new residents arrive in Central Florida every week. Eighty percent of our workforce operates outside tourism. Orlando is more economically diversified than most observers realize, and that diversification only holds if our employers can afford to compete for talent.
When healthcare costs spiral, small and mid-sized businesses suffer most because they lack the negotiating power of large corporations. The challenge isn’t unique to Orlando, but it lands here just as hard.
Prescription drug costs have become one of the fastest-growing components of health insurance premiums. Fortunately, we have great healthcare leadership in Central Florida working on this issue.
To that point, a recent piece by the CEO of healthcare company Prime Therapeutics hits home. The CEO asserted that the discussion should focus on “incentives, not intentions.” Prime’s business model focuses on delivering value to health plans and the patients they serve. Its Orlando-based specialty pharmacy supports patients across more than 30 specialty disease categories. Specialty medications account for a large share of healthcare spending, so these pharmacy options, along with a local facility, benefit everyone by creating jobs and contributing to our region’s economy.
When a company invests locally, builds facilities, employs Floridians and structures its business around returning value, that’s proof of alignment. It shows the company is rooted here and committed to the employers and patients it serves.
Having a strong regional healthcare partner like Prime in our list of pharmacy benefit design options means that we have someone in our corner.
Behind every employer struggling with healthcare costs is a patient — someone trying to access the care that keeps them working and engaged in our community. When we choose healthcare partners structured to serve patients first, we ensure that Central Florida’s workforce can thrive.
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Scott Matthews serves as president and Chair of the Orlando Chamber of Commerce.
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