Guidelines for Submission of Health Watch–Call for Article Papers

You are encouraged to submit an article to Health Watch, the Health Section's periodic publication. Health Watch is designed to deliver practical and applicable information to SOA Health Section members and other interested practitioners.

Articles should help practitioners in their day-to-day work, providing members with opportunities for basic and continuing education, both inside and outside of their areas of practice. Articles offering opinions on relevant public policy alternatives will also be considered and will be published under an opinion banner. By sharing their knowledge, expertise, and experiences in this way, authors may increase their stature within the actuarial profession and may gain professionally from readership in related disciplines.

Manuscript Submission

Electronic submission is preferred in Microsoft Word. Accompanying graphics should be sent in a format suitable for publishing (high-resolution TIFF, JPEG or pdf files). The author's digital photo and contact information (email and phone) should be included with the article. Authors are expected to meet the submission deadline given at the time a topic is tentatively accepted for publication. Failure to meet submission deadlines may result in non-publication of the article.

Length

The suggested length for Health Watch articles is 1,000 to 3,000 words. Moderately longer or shorter articles will also be considered. Accompanying charts, graphs, tables and exhibits are also welcome, and are subject to review according to the same guidelines as a submitted article. References should be included and must be complete.

Content of Papers

Once an article has been accepted for publication, the volunteer and SOA editorial staff have the right to accept, reject or request changes to articles after reviewing the material. Editors reserve the right to edit articles for length, basic syntax, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Authors will have the opportunity to approve the final copy of their article. Marketing pieces will not be accepted. Any specific proprietary company-related material should have company approval or be removed before the paper is submitted.

The following topic list includes areas the Health Section Council has identified as key issues for 2007: Healthcare Affordability and Financing (consumer driven health care, individualized risk management, evidence-based medicine, outcomes measurement/cost effectiveness-type analyses); Promotion and Visibility of the Actuary within the Healthcare Industry, Medicare (Part D and other Public health systems issues); and Reserving Accuracy (with a focus on distinguishing among IBNR methodologies and selecting the best method for a given circumstance). Although these topics will receive priority consideration, we invite articles on all topics that are relevant to our members.

For more information and to submit a paper to Health Watch, please contact Gail Lawrence or Ross Winkelman.