Description: This article is an overview of preliminary research on HSAs and Account-Based Health Plans. The summary reviews enrollment, health status, premiums and account information. From Health Watch Newsletter, September 2006, Issue No. 53.

Description: The editor of HealthWatch addresses the readership on actuarial best practices and purpose of ASOPs. Issue No 60

Description: Identifying and submitting all appropriate ICD-9 diagnosis codes to CMS will result in a higher risk score for the member and increased payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Milliman's HCC prevalence study illustrates the significant variations in HCC prevalence rates by age/gender, geography, and population type and will assist plans in benchmarking the effectiveness of their own diagnosis code capture efforts.

Description: Limitations in actual practice as a health care actuary due to lack of standards, lack of internal data, too much external data, lack of control. Issue No. 38.

Description: Statement that the SOA has formed a task force to address the morbidity tables used for minimum reserves of individual and group health insurance contracts. Issue No. 35.

Description: There are early indications of a six year cycle in ACA markets reminiscent of the traditional underwriting cycle.

Description: Interview discusses developing forecasting models to predict the financial impact of disruptive events and new medical technologies. Issue No. 60

Description: This article is intended to present a high-level review of a recently concluded research project (Mehmud & Yi, 2012) with the same title.

Description: This article provides an overview of critical illness insurance: history, product description, and the three primary ways to offer critical illness coverage in the United States. This article also contains an illustration of an issue age premium rate calculation, as well as product features and rating applications specific to the various types of critical illness coverage.

Description: This article describes Medicare Supplement and short-term care products in more detail, and we compare their risk profiles. We explore the concept that these two products—when offered together—may provide a complementary hedge of certain policyholder behavior risks.