Description: This essay, submitted for the Society of Actuaries' Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section 2010 Papers Competition, proposes an entrepreneurial solution to address the continued, unsustainable increases in health care costs. Under the author’s plan, entrepreneurs will “develop systems providing clear financial motivation for consumers to make decisions that minimize health care spending and maximize positive health outcomes. In so doing, health care providers must necessarily compete to offer the highest quality services at the lowest cost. By relying on the financial self-interest of consumers and free-market competition among health care providers, effective and sustainable systems to bend the health care cost curve can be achieved.”

Description: This article is a summary of a panel discussion, held at the March 2010 IAA Meeting in South Africa, which explored the dual roles of consulting actuaries as entrepreneurs and professionals. Topics covered include ethics and professionalism, conflict of interest, and management and communication skills, among others, representing views from small to large consulting firms in different countries.