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Florida's Health
A healthier approach: Hotelier Harris Rosen makes health care a priority
Rosen is convinced his model can work as well for other employers, which is why he started a consulting business to help others design similar plans. The company says it is focusing first on marketing its services to other employers in Central Florida before expanding further afield.
Rosen says many employers he’s talked to are reluctant to take on responsibility for health care for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the threat of medical malpractice lawsuits. (That hasn’t been a problem for Rosen Hotels, he says.) But the biggest fear, he says, is simply of the unknown.
Self-insuring does require a company to take a leap of faith, Rosen acknowledges. But the rewards, he says, are worth it.
“It’s like me getting fired from Disney,” says Rosen, who, before buying his first hotel, was the director of hotel planning for Walt Disney World. “What a blessing that turned out to be.”
Insurance in Florida
44.7% — Share of Florida private employers offering health-care coverage in 2012
37.2% — Share of Florida private employers offering health-care coverage in 2016
What Floridians Pay
For single coverage, average annual premium per employee:
$1,325 Employee contribution nationwide
1,568 Employee contribution in Florida
4,776 Employer contribution nationwide
4,692 Employer contribution in Florida
For family coverage, average annual premium:
$4,956 Employee contribution nationwide
6,297 Employee contribution in Florida
12,754 Employer contribution nationwide
11,692 Employer contribution in Florida
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Major Florida Counties: Who’s Insured
Hendry County in Florida’s interior had the lowest percentage of insured at 70.2%. Sumter County, dominated by the Villages, a huge senior-oriented development, had the highest percentage at 91.9%. The percentage of people with health insurance coverage in Florida’s major counties:
Major County — and Percentage with Health Insurance
Pinellas — 86.2%
Duval — 86.2
Hillsborough — 84.9
Palm Beach — 84.0
Orange — 82.1
Broward — 82.0
Miami-Dade — 76.9
Source: Florida Department of Health, 2012-16
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