District benefits consultants told the Santa Rosa County School Board on Jan. 16 that the district’s health fund ended plan year 2024 with an estimated surplus of about $22 million and that actuarial attestation to state solvency requirements is underway.

Presenters from Marsh/MMA said the district’s per‑employee budgeted funding for health benefits is $14,877 per year while plan‑year projections through November showed a projected cost near $11,789 per employee per year; the industry benchmark cited in the presentation was about $17,586 per employee per year.

Staff and MMA speakers emphasized pharmacy as a major driver of future cost growth. The district’s pharmacy trend was shown at about 17.4% compared with a national pharmacy trend benchmark of roughly 13.4%, MMA staff said. Eric Nedelkoff of MMA’s Center of Excellence explained factors behind rising pharmacy spend: high‑cost specialty drugs, growth in therapies advanced by manufacturers, and new markets such as weight‑loss medications. He discussed drug categories that plans watch closely — biosimilars (for biologic drugs such as Humira and Stelara), insulin pricing changes, specialty gene and cell therapies with very large per‑patient costs, and benefits‑design approaches that can limit exposure.

MMA described its independent review services for pharmacy benefit contracts and said its analyses typically identify net cost savings when compared with alternatives. MMA representatives told the board they use actuarial, clinical and contractual review to recommend pharmacy‑management choices tailored to a plan’s utilization and member mix.

Board members asked questions about pharmacy spending trends and the timing of updated claims data; presenters said December data were not yet available at the time of the Jan. 16 meeting but would be incorporated into actuarial reports when received. No board action was required; the item was presented for information and planning.