FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
CONTACT: Christina Johnson
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released its report Interdisciplinary Pain Management as a Means to Help Address Solvency of the State Employees’ Health Insurance Trust Fund, which explores the consistent increases in healthcare costs for those with complex chronic pain enrolled in the State Group Insurance Program (SGIP). Recent figures indicate the Florida SGIP has roughly 171,000 subscribers and provides coverage to approximately 350,000 individuals.
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said, “In Florida TaxWatch’s January 2025 report entitled “Solvency of the State Employee Health Insurance Trust Fund,” we recommended the Legislature increase the contribution amount or percent for health insurance to be more consistent with that paid by other large public and private employers. This would shift more of the annual employee health insurance annual premiums to the employee and would result in annual savings of $446 million for the state and its hardworking taxpayers. It would also give state employees more incentive to take responsibility for improving their health and control costs. This is a good start, but it does not go far enough.”
Florida TaxWatch Executive Vice President and General Counsel Jeff Kottkamp said, “In this follow-up report, Florida TaxWatch explores the implementation of an interdisciplinary pain management program to mitigate the consistent increases in healthcare costs for those with complex chronic pain enrolled in the State Group Insurance Program. Reducing the costs of health care will reduce the likelihood that the Legislature would have to increase premiums paid by state employees, their dependents, and retirees enrolled in the SGIP. Our dedicated state employees and hard-working taxpayers deserve nothing less.”
The Florida State Employees’ Health Self-Insurance Trust Fund (Trust Fund) is a self-insured health insurance plan that pays for health insurance claims (e.g., health, dental, vision, etc.) filed by state employees and their dependents and retirees enrolled in the State Group Insurance Program (SGIP). Although the Trust Fund is projected to remain solvent through the end of FY 2024-25, the Trust Fund is projected to have a negative ending cash balance for FY 2025-26 of $237.2 million, increasing to a negative ending cash balance of $1.7 billion by the end of FY 2029-30.
Chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain are the most common reasons why adults seek medical care and are linked to a number of negative health outcomes, including poor quality of life, opioid misuse and mental health issues. Florida TaxWatch firmly believes that, based upon the experience of states like Georgia and South Carolina, Florida could dramatically reduce Florida State Employees’ Health Insurance Trust Fund expenses by changing the way the state treats chronic pain.
Florida TaxWatch believes that the use of interdisciplinary pain management, in conjunction with or in place of, increased health insurance premiums paid by SGIP subscribers, could go a long way toward maintaining the solvency of the Florida State Employees’ Health Insurance Trust Fund. To that end, Florida TaxWatch recommends:
1. The Department of Management Services should include a pilot program utilizing interdisciplinary pain management as part of its plan to address the projected $1.7 billion deficit in the State Employees’ Health Insurance Trust Fund, as required by the Fiscal Year 2025-26 General Appropriations Act.
2. The 2026 Legislature authorize a pilot program utilizing interdisciplinary pain management as a way to reduce the number and amount of health insurance claims filed by SGIP subscribers. As an alternative, the state’s current weight management pilot program could be expanded to include an interdisciplinary pain management component.
3. The Department of Management Services should be directed to competitively procure a properly accredited and credentialled interdisciplinary pain management provider to oversee and coordinate pilot program activities.
4. Further, all participating healthcare providers should be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitative Facilities (CARF).
5. At the end of the pilot program, the Department of Management Services should be directed to provide a summary report to the Executive Office of the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President of the Senate, outlining the results of the pilot program.
6. Should this summary report affirm the efficacy of the pilot program, the Department of Management Services should be required to outline the steps required to fully implement the interdisciplinary pain management program.
To learn more and access the full report, please click here.
About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute, and the trusted “eyes and ears” of Florida taxpayers for more than 45 years, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on taxpayers and businesses. FTW is supported by its membership via voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled FTW to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the taxpayers it has served since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.
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