Description: Abstracts of recent articles of interest to health actuaries

Description: A new initiative, Commercial Health Care: What’s Next, will focus on education and research for health actuaries regarding issues that remain with the ACA.

Description: This is a regular column highlighting articles of interest to Health Actuaries appearing in the North American Actuarial Journal.

Description: Joe Wurzburger, Staff Fellow at the SOA, shares his views and insights about the health care industry in general and the Health Section's role in particular.

Description: This article summarizes 2012 AAA activities relating to the Affordable Care Act implementation, including work on the Amicus Brief for the Supreme Court Decision, MLR regulations, Actuarial Value, Rate Review, Essential Health Benefits and work with the NAIC.

Description: On average, contracts receiving their first star rating receive 3.20 stars, compared to existing or established contracts receiving 3.90 stars on average. This 0.70 disparity in quality ratings creates significant hardship on new contracts when this lower star rating decreases their payments in the following calendar year. This article explores the disparity in Medicare Advantage Star Ratings between contracts receiving their first star ratings (“New” contracts) and existing contracts, including: 1. Understanding what happens to Medicare Advantage Payments when contracts receive lower star ratings? – What is the Star Rating cliff and why does it matter to new contracts? 2. Explaining when a contract receives their first star rating and how much enrollment this requires – When does the Star Rating cliff occur? 3. Noting which specific star measures “New” contracts struggle with, including those contracts under large parent organizations, contracts with rapid growth, and all other new contracts. – How can my contract avoid the Star Rating cliff?

Description: What is the difference between a Single-Payer and Universal Health Care System, and how could the U.S. implement a system that would reduce the growth of medical costs while increasing quality.

Description: This paper will examine why CSR defunding produces pricing uncertainty and how regulators can alleviate these risks when insurers price 2020 premiums.

Description: Update on Health Section activities 2012-2013.

Description: This article introduces a research report that studied the relationship of nontraditional variables with health costs.