The Florida Educator Health Trust (FLEHT) enters 2026 less than a year old, but already with significant progress under its belt.

Established to help Florida School Districts save on employee health plans without having to pass along benefit reductions, the program opened last June with just three counties on board, representing 1,671 public school employees in DeSoto, Hardee and Hendry counties.

By the end of December, the nonprofit health insurance program had eight counties enrolled, with the addition of Brevard, Charlotte, Okeechobee, Highlands and Polk counties, bringing its total public school employee representation to nearly 22,000 people.

As of mid-January, more School Boards have voted to join the program at various points throughout 2026, which will bring the total counties enrolled to 15.

“In an era of rising health insurance costs for employees, we set out to provide much-needed services to School Districts without compromising benefits to educators, and it is working,” said Ted Roush, a former Superintendent of Schools and FLEHT Executive Director.

“In only 6 months, we have shown demonstrable savings to the districts, and consequently to taxpayers, realizing savings in the millions of dollars. Our growth — going from three to 15 counties in our first year of full operation — will allow us to continue achieving significant economies of scale, saving taxpayers even more money while maintaining a high level of health insurance for district employees.”

“By harnessing the power of the group district membership, FLEHT is able to perform for the whole what is not possible individually in the insurance marketplace,” Roush added.

The FLEHT realizes savings for School Districts by bringing Districts together to deliver efficient health programs for employees.

Formerly known as the FSHIP program, it was established in 2009 by the Florida School Board Insurance Trust. The program transitioned to FLEHT under the Florida Association of District School Superintendents last year. The change was meant to align the needs of Florida educators.

The FLEHT under its new structure is overseen by an executive committee composed of Superintendents, with all member Districts represented with voting trustees.

Hernando County is expected to be the next School Board to enter into a participation agreement with FLEHT. Program officials estimate they will have as many as 20 School Districts on board by Spring Break season. The group also estimates it has saved taxpayers more than $12 million.

The program is responding to rising health care premiums across the U.S. While cost of living is already creating a challenge, at an estimated 17% increase, health care premiums have increased by 45%, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality.

In order to participate in FLEHT, School Boards must first adopt a participation agreement. The District must already be or become self-insured. From there, the District establishes a transition plan into FLEHT and then formally enters the program. Once a District is a member, its Superintendent becomes a member/trustee of the program.

The program estimates savings of 7%-12% when fully transitioning from a fully-insured health insurance plan to a self-insured FLEHT participant. Within one to three years, the program claims members will enjoy savings of up to 13%.

Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Did Christina Pushaw break the law by asking gubernatorial candidate James Fishback to delete text messages the two exchanged in recent months?

Maybe.

Pushaw, who earns a $179,000 tax-funded salary as a senior management analyst for Gov. Ron DeSantis, all but confirmed the authenticity of texts between her and Fishback in which she appears to have written, “I need you to confirm that you deleted everything with my name on it.”

The exchange has raised questions about whether she solicited the destruction of public records, which would be illegal if the messages involved her government duties, but likely not if they were strictly campaign-related, as she says.

Fishback posted a screenshot of the exchange following a public blowup between the two after they, according to Pushaw, spoke “frequently” since October about Fishback’s campaign.

On X, Pushaw accused Fishback of deception, writing: “Thanks for proving my point that you have no qualms about lying and revealing private messages. I truly believed that we were friends, and I feel sickened and violated by this betrayal.”

Pushaw, who has worked for DeSantis as both a campaign and government staffer, says she was never paid for advising Fishback and never told the Governor about her communications with Fishback.

In a brief phone interview on Monday, she said none of her messages with Fishback touched her state job.

“I never talked to him about government business,” she said. She declined to explicitly confirm the authenticity of Fishback’s screenshots, including one that referenced her government position.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—“Donald Trump ties Greenland takeover bid to Nobel Prize in text to Norway leader” via Ellen Francis and Steve Hendrix of The Washington Post

—”Trump’s letter to Norway should be the last straw” via Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic

—”Trump’s Greenland move is one of the dumbest political decisions I have ever seen” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—”The race to build the DeepSeek of Europe is on” via Joel Khalili of WIRED

—”Three maps tell a tale of the 2026 Midterms.” via Ashley Cai and Shane Goldmacher of The New York Times

—”Orlando Sentinel 150: Remembering MLK’s only visit to Orlando in 1964” via the Orlando Sentinel

—“Jeff Brandes: Six ideas Legislature can’t afford to ignore in 2026” via Jeff Brandes for Florida Politics

—”The Indiana-Miami CFP game is the Hollywood tangle we didn’t know we needed” via Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter

—”‘It shaped my DNA’: The very Miami story of Mario Cristobal” via Andrea Adelson of ESPN

—”Two other Hoosiers from Miami are coming home, too — and could play a big role” via David J. Neal and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald