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Rising healthcare costs are plaguing HR and benefits professionals across industries. Mercer last year projected benefits costs would soar 5.8% in 2025—the third consecutive year of record increases and nearly double the standard increase of just a few years ago.
As employers work to balance cost containment with talent attraction and retention, many are pivoting to novel strategies. That includes Orange County Public Schools in Central Florida, which employs more than 24,000 people.
With 215 schools that educate 208,000 students, OCPS is Florida’s fourth-largest school district and the eighth largest in the nation. It strives to stay competitive with smaller districts in the region with leading-edge benefits, says Beth Curran, senior director of risk management at OCPS. Yet, the rising cost of benefits was challenging that effort and leaving few resources for salary increases.
“We wanted to try something new and be creative to lower costs,” Curran says.
That new strategy included incorporating an advanced primary care model into its benefits offerings, which Curran says has made a meaningful difference for employee health and wellness, while also driving up employee engagement and retention.
The rise of advanced primary care
Instead of the payment-for-services approach built into most healthcare delivery, physicians
