Plus, the huge increase in mental health leaves
Healthcare costs are set to double for millions across Florida in 2026, looming elimination of enhanced premium federal tax credits puts Florida families in jeopardy of losing their health coverage, and mental health leaves are up 300% since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s all in this week’s Healthcare Digest.
Florida Insurance Hike: Late last month the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) shared that come Jan. 1, 2026, over 4 million Floridians who depend on individual policies from the federal health insurance exchange or from small employer health plans will see a sharp hike in rates. Double-digit increases in monthly premiums will result and could be a make-or-break point for many low- and middle-income Floridians. One OIR example: a 28-year-old Duval County resident earning $35,000 a year and enrolled in the silver-level individual health insurance plan could pay up to $281 a month, almost double their current $149 monthly payment. While OIR posted the information “for illustrative purposes only,” the impacts of the change are very real, and will be even more significant in rural counties where fewer physicians and plan choices exist. Florida currently leads the entire nation in marketplace exchange enrollment, with over 4.6 million residents of the 23.6 million total. Healthcare issues are exacerbated by other federal changes, including but not limited to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and other cuts to the Affordable Care Act, covered below.
Tax Credits Expiring: In addition to health insurance rate hikes, the advance enhanced premium tax credits from marketplace plans are due to expire by year’s end, which help pay the cost of Silver-level plans. As a result of that and state leaders declining to expand Medicaid coverage, experts are warning that many Florida families may lose their healthcare altogether. These tax credits subsidize the cost of coverage for lower- and middle-income families, leading to projections of around 453,000 Floridians losing coverage entirely. The aforementioned ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ isn’t helping – including future rollbacks to Medicaid, causing many families to opt out of coverage. Among those affected most directly nationwide are the 50 to 64 age group enrolled in marketplace coverage, which make up 4.8 million out of an estimated 5.2 million enrollees (92%) according to a report from AARP. They could see much higher premiums if the enhanced premium tax credits are not extended by Congress. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that permanently extending the enhanced premium tax credits would cost $370 billion over the next decade, which has garnered no support from President Trump.
Mental Health Leaves: COVID-19 has had a drastic effect on the way we work, as we’ve extensively covered in LMA Newsletter stories on remote work. But new data from ComPsych Corporation, a provider of behavioral health and Employee Assistance Programs, is showing COVID also changed the in-person office dynamic as well. Specifically, the pandemic has had a profound effect on employee leaves of absence, which have increased 30% between 2019 and 2024, and 300% when looking specifically at mental-health related absences. This alarmingly high number does seem to be flattening out from 2023 to 2024, but the numbers are still much higher than pre-pandemic levels. However, the report shows that employees who take leave for any reason and use employer-provided health services return to work six days sooner than those who do not. Employees who take mental health leave without use of services actually increase the length of their absences by 12%. For those on leave for surgery or pregnancy who do not utilize employer-provided behavioral services, the duration is a little higher – somewhere around 12-15%, respectively. “The data shows that engaging in behavioral services helps individuals, and ultimately their teams, by getting them back to work sooner,” said Dr. Jennifer Birdsall, Chief Clinical Officer at ComPsych. “It’s especially encouraging to see this remains true regardless of the leave reason – mental health, physical, parental – as it demonstrates investing in wellbeing is beneficial across diverse employee populations and life events.”
LMA Newsletter of 9-22-25
