When Lauren Haddox took an undergraduate internship at a local school district's administrative office, she never anticipated a three-month stint would help her uncover her life-long passion.
Initially pursuing a career in journalism, Haddox spent a few years taking on work in newsrooms and at startups, but was ultimately drawn back to education admin — at that same office — which held the promise of being able to help people. More than 20 years later, she's still there. And she's not going anywhere.
"I've just grown up in the district," says Haddox, who climbed the organizational ladder and now serves as the director of risk and benefits management at the School District of Osceola County. "I don't see myself leaving unless they kick me out."
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Recent years have brought big changes to the benefits program she oversees at the school district, which has been self-insured since 1984 and currently supports 7,600 employees and their families. Haddox knew from experience and employee feedback that the biggest challenge facing their workforce was
"Over the years, all the big brokers told us the same thing everyone else hears:
In 2019, the district transitioned away from its Cigna offering and instead created its own district-managed network with the support of a third-party administrator. Taking back the ability to negotiate prices has saved the district $41 million in cost avoidance, and employees have saved $3 million per year.
This shift in healthcare plans went hand-in-hand with the expansion of the
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"When we first opened, I had people I knew that hadn't gone to the doctor for some time come in, and we had so many people get the care that they needed — just in the first week," she says. "People were rushed to the hospital because their blood pressure was through the roof, or they learned of a cancer diagnosis that had gone unaddressed."
This January, the center further evolved and opened a brand-new pharmacy, a dream that Haddox had been pursuing for years. Again, the impact on employees' health and wallets has been immediate.
"We partnered with a local pharmacist, and now employees that get their generic medications out of that pharmacy have a $0 copay," Haddox says. "One employee called to let us know that their child has type 1 diabetes, and they're saving more than $150 on medication per month since moving to the health center pharmacy."
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Next, Haddox and her team are preparing to offer a Health Center-only plan, which offers an even more affordable premium than the district's other offerings. Employees would be required to go to the health center to receive a specialist referral; for a single parent, the cost per paycheck to cover their children is $25 over 20 checks.
"I always attribute this work to my aunt — she's a teacher in the school district, and I want her healthy, just like everybody else," Haddox says, showing her emotions. "I'm a crybaby. Ask anybody around here and no matter what I'm saying, I'm crying. But I just want to help employees."
