Resources

Benepicks Blog

Guides and updates from the Benepicks team. Learn how modern health benefits work and see what we’ve been shipping.

• 01 I’m Turning 65 and My Spouse and I Are Already Retired. Now What? How couples can navigate Medicare when one spouse turns 65 and both are retired.
• 02 The Lowest-Cost Silver Plan, Explained How the lowest-cost silver plan makes a CHOICE Arrangement budget work.
• 03 Opting Out of a CHOICE Arrangement (Formerly ICHRA): What Happens to Your Premium Tax Credit How to decide whether to opt out of a CHOICE (formerly ICHRA) arrangement.
• 04 Is Medicare Mandatory? How to Avoid Lifelong Late Enrollment Penalties How to avoid Medicare late enrollment penalties.
• 05 Medicare Costs: Confirmed 2026 Figures and the 2027 Outlook The confirmed 2026 figures and 2027 outlook for the costs of Medicare.
• 06 The Complete Guide to Medicare Enrollment Periods The complete guide to Medicare enrollment periods.
• 07 How Does Medicare Affect HSAs? How Medicare affects HSAs, including contributions, Social Security, and the six-month backdating rule.
• 08 Medicare & CHOICE Arrangement (Formerly ICHRA): A Guide to Your Reimbursement Benefits A guide on Medicare and CHOICE (formerly ICHRA).
• 09 Switching from Medicare Advantage to Medigap: Timing, Underwriting, and Your Options We will walk you through the ins and outs of Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans to help you understand whether switching makes sense.
• 10 CHOICE Arrangement (Formerly ICHRA) Employee Classes and Minimum Class Sizes, Explained A short guide to employee classing with CHOICE (formerly ICHRA).
• 11 Can Owners Participate in a CHOICE Arrangement (Formerly ICHRA)? A guide for owners who want to participate in CHOICE (formerly ICHRA).
• 12 How CHOICE Arrangement Reimbursement Works, Step by Step Learn how a CHOICE Arrangement allowance becomes a reimbursed premium or eligible medical expense.
• 13 CHOICE Arrangement vs. QSEHRA: Which Reimbursement Arrangement Fits? Compare CHOICE Arrangements and QSEHRA, including eligibility, flexibility, affordability, and employee tax-credit tradeoffs.
• 14 Maya is leaving her job. Should she wait on dental? Waiting periods, and why the clock starts when you enroll.
• 15 Tasha picked a high-deductible plan. Then she broke her wrist. How supplemental products soften the blow.
• 16 Rosa's Humira costs $6,900. A near-identical drug costs $1,038. How formulary tools miss alternatives, and why a broker helps.
• 17 Kevin's $300 medication — and the deductible trap When drug and medical deductibles are separate tracks.
• 18 Marcus pays $4,200 a year to keep his doctor. He doesn't know it. When loyalty to a provider costs more than switching.
• 19 Danielle has United through work. She buys United on her own. Same logo on the card. Different doctors inside.
• 20 Your checkup was free. Then you mentioned a rash. How one sentence turns a $0 preventive visit into a $180 bill.
• 21 Your plan says it's "covered." That doesn't mean it's free. The most common misconception in health insurance.
• 22 Three Bronze plans. Same carrier. Not even close. Why plans with the same label can cost $500 or $8,250 for the same ER visit.
• 23 Bronze. Silver. Gold. It sounds like a ranking. It's not. What metal tiers actually mean — and why two bronze plans can be completely different.
• 24 Dr. Patel was in-network in January. She wasn't in June. Providers leave networks mid-year. This happens everywhere.
• 25 Rachel's treatment will cost $250,000. Her maximum bill: $9,200. How individual market protections work for serious illness.
• 26 Sarah got married in January. Got pregnant in March. One let her change plans. Special enrollment periods — which life events qualify, and which don't.
• 27 The Rivera team has been on group insurance for eight years What a transition looks like for people mid-treatment.
• 28 Priya is worried about losing her PPO Why the broadest network isn't always the best — and when it is.
• 29 Sam signed up for insurance on his phone. It took ten minutes. The employee experience, step by step.
• 30 Fifteen people in a risk pool. One NICU stay. Everyone's rates went up. Why the individual market can be cheaper than group for small employers.
• 31 Jin has been adding $500 to paychecks. Most of it disappears. How ICHRA turns taxed wages into tax-free benefits for small employers.
• 32 Alex's boss just cost him $2,160 a year — by trying to help When an ICHRA offer displaces subsidies worth more.
• 33 Leah has 10 employees today. She'll have 50 by December. How your ICHRA budget scales as you hire.
• 34 Nadia's $400 covers 85% in Louisville. It covers 48% in rural Virginia. Why premiums vary by location, and what drives it.
• 35 Carol is 63. Zoe is 25. They both got $400. Two strategies for contributions — and when to use which.
• 36 Ray's four most expensive employees don't even use the benefit How separating employee classes changes the compliance calculation.
• 37 Elena covers two kids but not her husband. That's allowed. How ICHRA works with dependents, spouses, and mid-year life events.
• 38 Marco is paying too much for a plan nobody likes What happens when you stop picking one plan for everyone.
• 39 About Benepicks Who we are and what we're building.
• 40 How much should your CHOICE Arrangement (formerly ICHRA) allowance be? Set a CHOICE Arrangement allowance from your affordability floor, current benefit spend, and local silver-plan premiums.
• 41 CHOICE Arrangement affordability in 2027: what the new 10.22% threshold changes How the 2027 ACA affordability percentage affects CHOICE Arrangement allowances, safe harbors, and employee tax credits.