Tallahassee's plan deserves a better steward
Capital Health Plan isn't just another insurance company. It was built here, it is run here, and for more than four decades it has served Tallahassee families, state workers, and local employers. Coverage of its 2023 CEO announcement reported more than 135,000 members across the Big Bend. In our view, it is a local institution worth standing up for.
That is why its leadership matters, and why we think it is time for a new one.
The numbers he's responsible for
Sabin Bass is not new to CHP's finances. He joined as its chief financial officer in 2003 and became president and CEO on August 1, 2023. For twenty years, the books were his job. In August 2023, he took on the whole company.
CHP is a nonprofit, so its numbers are public. Its IRS filings show the plan's surplus (what's left after paying its bills) falling from $51.8 million in 2019 to $36.6 million, then $28.9 million, then $28.0 million, and then $6.0 million in 2023, the year Bass took over. In 2024 it recovered only to $10.9 million.
Over the same stretch, Bass's own reported pay moved one direction. It was $595,248 in 2022, his last full year as CFO. It was $842,739 in 2024, an increase of about 42%, with another $347,139 reported as other compensation on top of that.
Surplus down 61%. CEO pay up 42%. Same two years.
These figures do not establish that Bass alone caused the decline. They compare his last full year as CFO with his first full year as CEO, so they also span a change in role. Annual surplus is revenue minus expenses, not the plan's accumulated reserves, and it remained positive. Our criticism is about accountability: in our view, a 42% increase in reported pay alongside a 61% fall in annual surplus calls for a better explanation and new leadership.
The wider industry was under pressure too: the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reported health insurers' profit margins falling from 2.2% in 2023 to 0.8% in 2024. CHP's net assets increased from $548.2 million in 2022 to $606.1 million in 2024. Its independent board compensation committee determines CEO pay; this is not a claim that Bass set his own compensation.
What should happen now
CHP's board of directors chose this CEO, and the board can choose another. We're not asking for anything dramatic. We're asking the board to do its job: look honestly at the last few years, listen to the people who work there, and start a search for leadership that treats CHP as what it is, which is Tallahassee's.
The plan this town loves is worth fighting for. That starts at the top.
Every figure in this piece is sourced on our Receipts page. This is an opinion piece; the conclusions are ours.