Plain-English guidance on employee benefits, compliance, and controlling costs, from the PCIS team in Houston.
131 articles
Compliance
The 2027 ACA affordability percentage is 10.22%. See what it means for your employee contributions, the three IRS safe harbors and 2027 penalty amounts.
For your Houston business, start with the dentists your employees want to keep. Ask dental insurance brokers to explain dentist access, costs and plan limits.
Decide GLP-1 weight-management coverage using your plan's actual options, eligibility rules, net costs and employee access, with medical and stop-loss terms aligned.
Employee Benefits
Check payer order, Medicare dates, drug notices, HSA deposits and family coverage without choosing Medicare coverage for an employee.
Group Health Insurance
A level-funded health plan is a self-funded employer health plan packaged with regular monthly payments for expected claims, administration and stop-loss insurance. It can make budgeting easier, but it is not the same as buying fully insured coverage. The employer retains plan responsibilities and contract-dependent financial exposure.
Broker Strengths
Stop-loss insurance helps a self-funded employer manage unusually high eligible health claims by reimbursing amounts above policy attachment points. Specific coverage addresses one person’s claims; aggregate coverage addresses the group’s total eligible claims. Stop-loss protects the employer, not employees directly, and it does not eliminate exclusions, reimbursement delays or every financial responsibility.
Employee Benefits
A third-party administrator (TPA) performs contracted administrative work for a health plan, such as processing claims, maintaining eligibility and supporting members. A TPA is not automatically the insurer or the source of claim funding. In a self-funded arrangement, the employer generally funds covered claims while the TPA administers them under the plan's terms.
Group Health Insurance
A focused 2026 renewal update: revised HSA and affordability figures, group-specific rate changes, pharmacy review and funding comparisons.
Employee Benefits
See how a Houston small business can organize a core benefits package, optional coverage and employee choices without treating a sample as a quote.
