Description: The author encourages the use of sound actuarial principles to develop reasonable retirement spending budgets instead of rule of thumb approaches commonly used.

Description: This article provides an in-depth discussion of how subsidies are an integral part of affordability for individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and, ultimately, impact the viability of the market.

Description: Summary of testimony by an AAA Board member before a congressional subcommittee, as an expert on risk assessment and adjustment, especially in relation to Medicare risk contracting and HMO payments. She recommended: mitigating the geographical region values, credibility weights for payments to health plans, carving out high cost claim segments, reengineering the ACR methodology, shifting AAPCC methodology from fee-for-service toward competitive bidding, and further projects to improve risk methods.

Description: Article The 1979 Annual Report of the Trustees Of the U.S. Social Security Programs by Bartlett in The Actuary, June 1979, Volume 13, Number 6

Description: The article discusses the sustainability of the ACA individual market from a public entitlement standpoint. A key point of measuring sustainability is the reliance on market forces rather than federal budget constraints. The article explains why an actuarial viewpoint of sustainability is necessary to a greater extent than other public assistance and social insurance programs. The article challenges actuaries to be a bold, objective voice in a space that is full of opinionated but often uninformed viewpoints.

Description: Applies the economic concept of negative externality (where firms profit but create unacceptable social costs) to systemic of financial institutions. Identifies alternatives to the traditional (Pigou) response of taxing the firm.

Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate and influence health care policymakers on issues including principles for health care reform, Medicare, wellness programs, and solvency.

Description: Discussion of some of the debated aspects of the new health care law from an actuarial principles perspective.

Description: Recent studies have suggested that teachers would be better off with DC or Cash Balance plans than with DB. Detailed data from CalSTRS support the opposite.