Custom Benefits Solutions

05/25/2026

In honor of Memorial Day, we invite you to join us in taking time to remember and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and preserve our freedom.

Please note that our office will be closed on Monday, May 25th, in observance of Memorial Day. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 26th, and will respond to any messages received during the closure as promptly as possible.

Wishing you a respectful and meaningful Memorial Day.

05/20/2026

If you sponsor a health plan, understanding how it works, especially your pharmacy benefits, is part of responsible leadership.

Too often, employers are left navigating unclear pricing models and misaligned incentives without real visibility into where their healthcare dollars are going.

That lack of transparency can create both confusion and risk.

When you are making decisions for your employees, you should have clear answers and partners who are aligned with your best interests.

Solutions like Sunlight Health and Sunlight Rx are designed to provide that clarity and support better decisions.

Take a closer look at your plan at www.custombenefits.work.

05/13/2026

Before you fill that prescription, asking a few simple questions can make a real difference in both cost and care.

It can help to ask:

🔹 Is there a generic or lower-cost alternative?
🔹 Can I get this medication at a different location for a better price?
🔹 Is this being classified as a “specialty drug” and does it need to be?
🔹 Are there options through direct primary care or alternative programs?

These details matter because prescription pricing is not always straightforward, and small changes can significantly impact what you pay.

Healthcare Smarty Pants is all about helping you understand your options so you can make more confident decisions.

Learn more about how transparency supports better choices at www.custombenefits.work.

05/04/2026

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, our team wanted to share a delicious Chicken Enchilada Dip recipe from Delish that's ready in just 30 minutes and perfect for your celebrations.

If you give this recipe a try, be sure to let us know how it went!

Wishing you a festive and delicious Cinco de Mayo!

📖: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a49954/chicken-enchilada-dip-recipe/

04/27/2026

Most employers don’t realize their pharmacy benefit is often one of the most expensive and least transparent parts of their health plan.

Large PBMs frequently operate with hidden costs, unclear specialty drug classifications, and pricing structures that make it difficult to see where your money is actually going.

That leaves many plan sponsors wondering where their pharmacy dollars really end up.

A transparent approach brings clear pricing, defined margins, and aligned incentives so you can make informed decisions without the guesswork.

If you sponsor a plan, you deserve that level of clarity.

Learn more about transparent options like Sunlight Rx at www.custombenefits.work.

01/05/2026

Here's my latest article from DPC News -- https://dpcnews.com/working-with-employers/lets-pretend-health-insurance-is-auto-insurance/.

Have you ever had a minor vehicle “bump up” and decided to handle it yourself without filing a police report or an auto insurance claim?  Surveys suggest 35% of the 20+ million drivers in…

01/01/2026

As we welcome 2026, I wish you a year filled with good health, professional success, and positive moments. Looking forward to working together in the year ahead.

12/04/2025

10/24/2025

I'm going to keep this short because it's Q4 and there's hardly any time for posting. But, I just couldn't help stating the obvious here.

Q: "Upcoding or downcoding...which is justified"?
A: "Neither, this is why you don't want insurance companies paying hospital claims if you can help it. This is why you need to be empowering employees with cash pay strategies and nurse care navigation to facilities that are friendly to cash pay strategies".

You might say, "but wait, I pay a LOT in premiums so that insurance companies will pay claims"

I say, "exactly, if you will engage with me, I will show you the error in those thoughts and help you build a strategy where you don't need those insurance companies to pay claims".

Pro tip -- understanding that what you thought was an insurance company is actually not that at all. They don't even call themselves insurance companies anymore. Read their fine print. They identify as "healthcare services organizations". That means that they believe their main job is vertical integration. Not providing insurance.

Wendell Potter's Substack from Wednesday gives you a bigger picture here -- https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/battle-between-health-care-giants?utm_source=dailyinsurancereport.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily-industry-report-october-24&_bhlid=e3d478ea3155625ddc8fba24b39c8e388d713fb4

Enjoy!
.ixable

Hundreds of Tenet facilities may leave Cigna’s networks over pay dispute.

04/01/2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbft1Jc9GNk&t=3885s

2025 is the first year I feel like I've stuck to a New Year's Resolution. Thank goodness I picked something I'm passionate about. No, it wasn't losing weight or eating healthily, although I need to do that too. This year, I resolved to attend my local Board of Commissioners meetings and sign up for the 3-minute public comment period to share insights that might be helpful from a public health standpoint. So far, I'm on track.

In March, the subject I chose to highlight was the "MDL" or multi-district litigation against certain drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefits managers, who pleaded "no contest" to allegations of price fixing, supply chain manipulation, and other shady practices. Big pharma has been suspected of inflating the price of life-saving prescription drugs like insulin and others; now it's our turn to hold them accountable.

Below are my comments regarding this topic if you care to listen. My comments begin at the 1:40:52 mark.

Please send me a message if you'd like to learn more about your rights as a plan sponsor and how you may also join the MDL to recover the plan assets that were illegally taken from your health plan by these bad actors. It is the responsibility of the plan sponsor to actively seek restitution for your health plan's members. They are counting on you to recoup their health funds so those monies can be used down the road when future health needs arise.


Bentley Main Street Family Medicine Shane Purcell