Description: This section contains book reviews and summaries of recently published works on subjects including demography, savings in the U.S., life company state examinations, private pensions, Industrial insurance, medical care, and union welfare plans.

Description: This research report examines functional and cognitive trends among assisted living facility residents using a sample of long-term care policyholders who are making claims on their policies.

Description: A research report describing aspects of provider network performance in health care settings with particular focus on experiences with Exchanges.

Description: This study aims to answer the question of how much of an episode’s cost and use of specific services can be attributed to the patient’s own health status, as opposed to being driven by other factors such as the care setting, patient preference, and provider practice patterns. In other words, do episode costs vary so widely because of patient characteristics, including health status, or are they related to other, nonclinical factors?

Description: This report evaluates alternative payment models that potentially could be instituted by healthcare payers and manufacturers.

Description: A divisive confrontation over health care pricing is almost inevitable over the next few years. What will ultimately happen is a political decision, not an actuarial one—but it will have major consequences for the trend in health care costs and the divergence between public and private insurance premiums.

Description: An outlook on the health industry incorporating insights from the Getzen Model of Long-Run Medical Cost Trends

Description: The Committee on Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Surveys of the Society of Actuaries Research Institute sent companies a survey in May of 2019 on mortality improvement practices. Note this survey was completed prior to the onset of COVID-19, so that issue was not addressed in this survey. The purpose of the Survey was to examine mortality improvement practices with respect to life insurance and annuity pricing and financial projections in both the U.S. and Canada.

Description: How does where you live impact your health? The following research considers this question through the lens of social determinants of health (SDOH), which are factors relating to where you live or work that may impact your health. In the United States, there are geographical differences in SDOH which contribute to wide disparities in health status and outcomes. In particular, individuals who are negatively affected by SDOH may have an increased burden of disease, leading to a relatively high total cost of care and worse quality of life.

Description: This report reviews retirement planning software programs currently available to individuals and their professional advisors. The report does not rate or recommend specific programs. Rather, it explains how programs that are currently available work, and what features can be improved.