By Lynn Jones| For more than 34 years, Darnell Smith, Florida Blue’s Market President for the North Florida region, has been on the front line of driving health care access and affordability for our First Coast. Hailing from St. Augustine, Smith is a graduate of Lincolnville High School and a 1987 graduate of Florida State University. Smith first utilized his engineering degree working at the Maxwell House Coffee plant in downtown Jacksonville. Within a few years, he made a turn and headed to Florida Blue where he has served and led for more than three decades. Smith has helped support health care for individuals, children, families, and business of all sizes in our community – including the affordable care options through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual Marketplace.
Key to his role as an advocate for affordability, Smith and his Florida Blue colleagues were recently engaged in a down-to-the-wire negotiation with Baptist Health Jacksonville. “Walking out of the negotiation room without an agreement was not an option. I was grateful to be a part of the process to ensure that we reached a compromise in the best interest of this community, and to get across the finish line. Per Smith, the process drew out and made headlines due to each entity having a very different approach to the negotiation process. As the two companies tried to find common ground, Baptist deployed a public campaign rarely seen from hospital systems across the country. “While negotiations are growing in intensity, from my perspective, we rarely have this problem in Florida. Their demands and approach were aggressive and negative, and we never like to see members caught in the middle.” He continued, “it took until the last minute to reach a fair deal on rates, and it’s unfortunate Baptist Health chose not to continue serving our thousands of Marketplace members. Although the negotiations worked out for the majority of our members, both of our organizations want what’s best for patients. Florida Blue and Baptist Health are caring local health care leaders; we are both excellent companies.”
More than 4.5 million individuals and families in Florida are covered under an ACA plan, with Florida Blue having the majority of Marketplace members. With a new administration coming to the White House, there are concerns about the future of the Affordable Care Act and the government subsidies that have made these plans attractive and affordable. Smith was quick to remark, “You can’t take away access to affordable care and not hurt everyone. Hopefully that is not going to happen.” Smith adds, “we understand there are issues that need to be addressed in health care, and Florida Blue will work in local communities, in Tallahassee, and in D.C. to collaborate on solutions. It’s going to take all of us to make the system easier, more affordable, and more accessible – and we must protect coverage to these all-important ACA plans and the subsidies. Many people do not realize that there is financial assistance available to help with the monthly cost of health insurance — in many cases, they can get a comprehensive health plan for $0. We cannot take that away from them, so we have to have the subsidies to offset the cost.”
With more than 30 years in the health care business Smith has seen the changes that have occurred through the years. With experience in Florida Blue’s membership and billing departments, customer service, local markets, and community engagement, Smith was also part of the team that helped with the start of the Affordable Care Act plans, which also helped hundreds of thousands in Florida who have pre-existing conditions, and previously could not afford quality health care. “We used to share the unfortunate news that clients couldn’t access individual health plans.” Smith reiterated that the Marketplace plans have changed the dynamics, and opened the door to quality care for so many of our friends, family, and neighbors. Florida Blue’s goals are to protect that access, make the system simpler and easier to navigate, and to advocate for affordability across the health care system. “We have to drive down costs. The best systems in the world can be and must be equitable, accessible, and as affordable as possible.”
Among Florida Blue’s current innovations, the health solutions company helped bring Sanitas Medical Centers to the state. There are dozens of locations across Florida, one current location in Jacksonville, and two new centers opening in early 2025. The Florida Blue | Sanitas Medical Centers offer primary care, labs and diagnostics, 24/7 virtual care and much more. “With our partner here and across Florida, we are connecting members to preventive care and helping them manage chronic conditions and their mental well-being, too.” Smith says, “We want to support whole-person care of individuals, and a unique care model that is compassionate, convenient, and catches potential medical issues much earlier.”
As Smith’s career has advanced, so too has his deep passion for the community. He has spent years volunteering with community service projects, mentoring youth and young professionals, serving on board and committees, and leading key community partnerships and programs – in addition to spending time with his family. A dedicated community and health care leader for more than 30 years, Darnell Smith has no plans to slow down, with more work to be done to ensure health care works for everyone in North Florida – no matter where they live or how much money they have.
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