Description: During the past few years, performance, cost, and risk trends for Medigap products have undergone substantial changes. Some of these trends could ease cost pressures on Medigap insurers, while others might increase them. Part 1 of this Issue Brief article discusses current changing trends and considerations around about how they are impacting Medigap.

Description: The Supplemental Health, DI & LTC Conference provides a unique opportunity to consider a cross-functional view of supplemental health products, individual disability insurance, and long-term care standalone and combination products.

Description: Learn more about Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs) and their functionality as health insurance. These nonprofit companies pool money from participating members to assist with members' healthcare coverage. Further exploring HCSMs, some of the offered arrangements of this plan operate differently and with a unique regulatory framework. HCSM enrollment has grown 1000% since solidification as a law in the ACA. By signing up for this webcast, you can discover why HCSMs are becoming a key component of the individual market in some states.

Description: Actuaries have the business acumen, problem-solving capabilities, and technical skills to develop innovative and data-driven solutions in the social insurance space. It is time we expand our scope and embrace an increased role in making a positive impact within the health care ecosystem. The primary focus of this paper is on social insurance programs dedicated to the most vulnerable population: low-income families accessing care through Medicaid. While there are numerous challenges that require other subject matter experts to take the lead, this article highlights topics where actuaries can be key players in developing and implementing tangible solutions to improve the care for the most vulnerable. Issues and solutions in this paper focus on the following three areas: 1. Access to appropriate care, 2. continuity of care, and 3. social determinants of health.

Description: Read the June 2019 issue of Health Watch, published by the Health Section. Practical information for actuaries, articles impact sections, section activities.

Description: This article provides an overview of behavioral economic theory as it relates to health and welfare insurance plans and provides summaries of two sample applications of the theories: enrollment in health insurance exchanges created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and product design considerations in light of vast health illiteracy.

Description: Read the December 2019 issue of Health Watch, published by the Health Section. Practical information for actuaries, articles impact sections, section activities.

Description: On average, contracts receiving their first star rating receive 3.20 stars, compared to existing or established contracts receiving 3.90 stars on average. This 0.70 disparity in quality ratings creates significant hardship on new contracts when this lower star rating decreases their payments in the following calendar year. This article explores the disparity in Medicare Advantage Star Ratings between contracts receiving their first star ratings (“New” contracts) and existing contracts, including: 1. Understanding what happens to Medicare Advantage Payments when contracts receive lower star ratings? – What is the Star Rating cliff and why does it matter to new contracts? 2. Explaining when a contract receives their first star rating and how much enrollment this requires – When does the Star Rating cliff occur? 3. Noting which specific star measures “New” contracts struggle with, including those contracts under large parent organizations, contracts with rapid growth, and all other new contracts. – How can my contract avoid the Star Rating cliff?

Description: Risk Adjustment continues to be a hot topic in Health Insurance since its emergence. This mechanism came into being as a means of reducing the risk of selection, particularly in marketplaces where underwriting is not allowed, and rating factors are significantly restricted. Risk adjustment serves to adjust premiums to reflect the risk of individual members or overall members as a whole within a particular cohort of a health plan. Risk adjustment is not perfect, as it does not perfectly predict future costs or perfectly adjust for the differences in expected costs. Different marketplaces have different challenges with risk adjustment.

Description: Read the October 2019 issue of Health Watch, published by the Health Section. Practical information for actuaries, articles impact sections, section activities. This is the first digital-only issue of the newsletter.