What is the value of the health care we pay for? As medical inflation continues to outpace general inflation, this question is more important than ever. As actuaries, we are often called upon to evaluate the value of medical care. Are the ways the value equation is commonly constructed reflective of our aspirations as a society? What gravitational forces do we need to be aware of that perpetuate the status quo, mental biases and methodological pitfalls and how do we actively work to correct for them? We will discuss issues with current value evaluations, including biases and methodological pitfalls, and propose ways to correct and guard against these. You will learn about:
• Factors affecting how value equations (ROI analyses) are typically constructed
• Mental biases and how they affect our analyses
• Tips on how to conduct value assessments objectively