Description: This panel discussion is from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held June 3-5 in Colorado Springs. The panelists debunk myths, the conventional wisdom that actuaries have no place in the public policy arena, whether because the profession is too small to influence public policymakers, or legislators just don't want to hear from professionals whose work is so technical in nature and specialized in its application, or that It's not really necessary to become too involved in public policymaking, because what goes on in legislatures just doesn't affect actuaries’ day-to-day working lives. The panelists provide insights on lending actuarial expertise to policymaking debates. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 3A.

Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate health care policymakers on issues including health care reform, Medicare, loss ratios, premium review, reinsurance, benefit and eligibility changes, exchanges, and risk based capital.

Description: Recently, the SCAN Foundation, AARP, LeadingAge, and HHS funded economic modeling conducted by Milliman and the Urban Institute around LTC reform elements. The LTC industry has over the years also generated ideas to address the on-coming expansion of LTC needs in the U.S. For this article, we have brought together three individuals who have long involvement with LTC financing to discuss some of the recent ideas and provide some perspectives on their pluses and minuses.

Description: This presentation is a General Session, number 1GS, from the 2002 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 19-20 in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Events such as the terrorist acts of September 11, the accounting scandals, continued volatility in the equity markets, and low interests rates have impacted and will continue to impact the industry and our profession for many years to come. The three keynote speakers, an industry analyst and two leaders of our profession, provide their views regarding these impacts and how the industry and our profession might change and act as a result of these events, emphasizing the importance of actuaries’ professionalism. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: Discussion of the attitudes of consumers and consumerists regarding the life insurance industry and its products and a discussion of opportunities for improvement Topics include: 1. Disclosure to existing policyholders 2. Policy loan problems, including the policy replacement problem 3. dividend determination practices and 4. deceptive sales practices in the llfe insurance business.

Description: This panel discussion is from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 16-17 in New York. The panelists debunk myths, the conventional wisdom that actuaries have no place in the public policy arena, whether because the profession is too small to influence public policymakers, or legislators just don't want to hear from professionals whose work is so technical in nature and specialized in its application, or that It's not really necessary to become too involved in public policymaking, because what goes on in legislatures just doesn't affect actuaries’ day-to-day working lives. The panelists provide insights on lending actuarial expertise to policymaking debates. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 2.

Description: Letter by Concerned Actuary Group, printed in the January 2010 issue of In The Public Interest, in response to August 6 Review and Outlook Section editorial titled “Obamacare’s Real Price Tag.”

Description: Report on the activities of the Academy’s health practice council and its work groups.

Description: The article discusses the Texas Pension Review Board's Guidelines for Actuarial Soundness applicable to Texas state public retirement systems (including the system's amortization period), and how these guidelines are consistent with and complementary to both the current GASB 27 ARC disclosure, and the imminent GASB 67 & 68 disclosures. The GASB requirements will change from a de facto funding standard to strictly disclosure requirements, with a focus on plans whose funding trajectory is the poorest.

Description: Sir Derek Morris carried out a review of the actuarial profession in the United Kingdom at the request of the UK government and reported in March 2005. This article starts with a reprint of an article originally published in The Actuary about the conclusions of the Morris report and continues with an update on what has happened over the 5 years since Morris reported.