Description: Issues relating to the1998 Balanced Budget Act BBA on Medicare Supplement Carriers. Discusses High-Deductible options, open enrollment provisions, pre-existing condition limitations, new provider payment methods and preventive benefits Issue No. 36.

Description: Analysis of the impact of disease progression and treatment on life expectancy provides perspective on the long term costs to the health care system of chronic medical conditions.

Description: This article reviews the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act and the impact the legislation has had on Medicare Supplement plans, policies and the changes to the model regulation. From Health Section Newsletter, March 2005, Issue No. 49.

Description: This article is based on a third party administrator study and explores the relationships between family structure, spare capacity and health care utilization.

Description: Corporate Economist for Humana describes the process of relating the macroeconomy to trends in health care claims. Rather than omit the economy's influence, or ascribing it to another source, forecast accuracy is improved by explicitly incorporating macro trends after actuarial components are removed. Success in this endeavor depends on deep knowledge and experience with both econometric forecasting and the health care industry.

Description: Improve pharmacy cost forecasting by developing induced demand curves for pharmacy costs.

Description: This article provides an introduction to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 and looks at how the Medicare prescription drug plan will affect the commercial market as well as, what PDPs will offer for benefits and if any will offer supplemental benefits. From Health Section News, March 2005, Issue No. 49.

Description: Overview of a benefit rush and its effects on companies.

Description: In this article, the authors explore how the recession has impacted new member enrollment in the various state health care programs and the resulting impact on trend.

Description: Congress has been debating a revision to Medicare Advantage payments including limiting payments to the Medicare Fee-For-Service FFS cost. A county-specific impact study to the benchmark payment rates for each county nationally based on the FFS limitation criteria was performed. This article includes results for Florida, California, Pennsylvania and New York.