Business Health Market- Employee Benefits Expert

10/29/2026

A while back, I asked what people were most concerned about when it comes to health insurance.

The answers weren’t surprising: cost, deductibles, limited options; and really, finding that balance between affordability and good coverage.

That’s a big part of why I’ve been excited to finally share this.
AmeriBenefit is here.

It’s an option specifically worth looking at for solopreneurs, independent contractors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who may be paying full price for coverage and wondering what else is out there.

It won’t be right for everyone, and I’ll always tell you when another option makes more sense.

But for the right person or business, this could open a door that hasn’t been available before.

I explain how it works in the video below.

👉 Questions? Send me a message or visit https://lnkd.in/ehr6Y7gi.

10/21/2026

There’s no such thing as the “best” health plan.

The right plan depends on how you use healthcare, what medications you take, what you can comfortably absorb financially, and what might be changing this year.

That’s the point of this week’s Clarity Notes.

The goal isn’t to find the plan with the prettiest numbers.
It’s to find the one that actually fits your life.

📬 Read the full issue and subscribe❗

🎙️ Listen to the full episode ‼️
https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2626258.rss
https://brians-newsletter-018a5b.beehiiv.com/p/the-best-health-plan-doesn-t-exist
https://youtu.be/4UY4V8NLJm8?si=FRFw3xe81ayLFuCb

10/06/2026

Open enrollment is shaping up to be a tough one.

Higher premiums.
Higher deductibles.
Lower subsidies for many families.

But behind the scenes, we’ve been working on something specifically for the people who often feel stuck with limited options; self-employed individuals, entrepreneurs, independent contractors, and small businesses.

A new way to access the power of group health insurance, strong PPO networks, and options outside of what many people have grown used to.

We’ll be sharing the name and full details soon.

💬 If this sounds like you, or someone you know, send me a message. I’d be happy to show you what we’ve been working on and see if it could be a fit.

09/29/2026

A lower premium can look great on paper.

But the real question is: what happens if you actually have to use the plan?

One number I always want people to know is the max out-of-pocket. That’s your worst-case scenario for the year.

Then ask yourself another question:

Could I actually handle that financially if something happened tomorrow?

Choosing a health plan isn’t just about finding the cheapest premium. It’s about understanding how much risk you’re keeping and how much you’re transferring.

That’s what I break down in Episode 6 of Health Insurance Doesn’t Have to Suck.

Full episode linked below.
https://lnkd.in/dgVDS3in

https://lnkd.in/d5DpnaJm

09/16/2026

One thing gets lost pretty quickly when we start talking about employee benefits:

There are people on the other side of the spreadsheet.

It’s easy to look at a renewal and see:

Premiums.
Deductibles.
Employer contribution.
Budget.

All important.

But employees don’t experience a benefits package as a spreadsheet.

They experience it when their kid is sick.

When they need a prescription.

When they finally decide to see a therapist.

When they’re comparing your job offer to someone else’s.

That’s why I don’t think the right question is simply:

“How do we make this cheaper?”

A better question is:

“How do we control cost without making the benefit less useful?”

Sometimes those two goals work together.

Sometimes they don’t.

And that’s where the real benefits strategy starts.

Because the cheapest plan isn’t always the best decision.

And the richest plan isn’t always the smartest one either.

The goal is finding the balance your business can sustain and your employees can actually use.

That’s a much better conversation than just chasing the lowest premium.

09/07/2026

Most people assume using their insurance at the pharmacy is automatically the cheapest option.

Sometimes it is.
Sometimes it isn’t.

That’s the part worth knowing.

In this issue of Clarity Notes, I break down why prescription prices can vary so much, a few tools worth checking before you pay, and what’s happening with GLP-1 coverage right now.

A two-minute price check can sometimes save you more than you’d expect.

Have you ever compared your insurance price against a cash or discount price for the same prescription?

📬Read the full issue and subscribe here:
https://lnkd.in/gUtE7Nxa

There's a good chance you've been overpaying at the pharmacy counter. Not because of fraud.

08/31/2026

Business Health Market is sponsoring the 12U Thunderwolves this season.

They're a local travel team working toward a trip to Cooperstown. Coached and run entirely by volunteers, and every dollar raised goes straight to defraying what the families are paying out of pocket.

We're in, and we're looking for a few more businesses to join us. Sponsorships start at $100 and put your name on the banner at every game, with logo placement at the higher levels and your logo on the jerseys at the top level.

If your business wants in — or you'd rather donate a gift card or basket item for their October raffle — message the page and I'll get you connected with the team.

Western New York folks: we've also got Bills squares and a meat raffle in October to help cover the trip. Message me and I'll send you the details.

— Brian

08/21/2026

There’s one number on a health insurance plan I wish more people paid attention to.

And it’s not the premium.

It’s not even the deductible.

It’s the out-of-pocket maximum.

Why?

Because when I’m helping someone evaluate coverage, I want them to understand what happens in the bad year.

Not just the healthy year.

So I’ll often bring the conversation back to one simple question:

“What is the most this plan could cost me if I really have to use it?”

For covered, in-network healthcare, your out-of-pocket maximum helps answer that question.

That number tells you something your monthly premium can’t:

How much financial risk are you actually keeping?

A plan can look inexpensive until you need it.

That doesn’t automatically make it a bad plan.

It just means you should understand the trade you're making before you choose it.

Health insurance gets a lot easier to evaluate when you stop looking at individual numbers and start looking at the risk behind them.

08/17/2026

I’ve had a lot of people say some version of this:

“Wait… I have health insurance. Why am I getting this bill?”

Usually, the answer comes back to the deductible.

A lot of people see that number when they enroll, but they don’t really think about what it means until they actually need care.

That’s the part I wanted to unpack in this episode.

Your premium and deductible are connected. If you pay less each month, you’re usually taking on more of the risk yourself.

That doesn’t automatically make it a bad plan.

It just means you should know what you’re responsible for before a surgery, ER visit, or diagnosis puts that number in front of you.

🎙️ In this episode of Health Insurance Doesn’t Have to Suck, I break down why deductibles have gotten so high and how to think about them before the bill shows up.

Watch the full episode:

https://youtu.be/SMi5MTfLh_w?si=G2l24DbKSCcLsF_G

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-04-riverside-brian-brian-calverts-stu/id6787139892?i=1000783357244

What deductible would make you stop and really think twice about a plan?

08/10/2026

One of the reasons I enjoy working with smaller businesses is that the conversation can go a lot deeper than simply, “Here’s your health insurance quote.”

For a business with 2, 10, or 20 employees, benefits can play a real role in where that company goes next.

Can it help you retain a great employee?

Can it make hiring easier?

Can it help you compete with a larger company for talent?

Those are the conversations I want to have.

A smaller business today may be a much larger business a few years from now, and I’d rather be there helping them think through those decisions along the way than just show up when it’s time to renew a policy.

That’s always been the goal for me: be a resource and a consultant first, not just someone making a transaction.

This was another part of my conversation with Barrett Young on The Art of Succession podcast.

Watch the full episode for more of our discussion around growing a business, serving clients differently, and the decisions that come with building for the long term.

▶️ https://youtu.be/hI2ypKJNH6A?si=eZK3Y1lSilRL5XYe