Description: This article is a brief overview of what digital health is, how it is regulated, and who some of the big unicorns are.

Description: The article introduces a cashflow matching strategic asset allocation (SAA) framework for life insurers. Given the recent shift to higher interest rates after two decades of persistent low interest rates, insurers have an opportunity to enhance their asset liability management by rebalancing asset portfolios to narrow duration gaps and attain higher risk-adjusted yields. The framework aims to align investment objectives with economic, regulatory, and rating agency requirements. It prioritizes cashflow matching as the primary optimization goal and incorporates security-level asset information to assist portfolio managers in executing SAA seamlessly. The article highlights the benefits of the cashflow matching SAA framework, including greater attention to cashflow matching, unbiased results, readily executable strategies, and stable economic reserves. A case study is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework in improving risk-adjusted return and cashflow matching for a representative liability block.

Description: Overview of the diverse Asia markets and four key themes:Rapid pace of product development, innovative underwriting solutions, Wellness, the rise of insurtech.

Description: The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary performs estimates for a wide variety of proposals to make changes to Social Security. Many proposals address the long-range solvency deficit for Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. Other proposals make revisions to specific aspects of Social Security law without significant effects on long-term solvency. This article discusses and provide examples of both types of proposals.

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: SOA interview with David Axene

Description: The October/November 2015 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: Family structures have expanded in recent decades and so have some beneficiary forms in insurance, banking and investment accounts. This essay includes suggestions for further expansion of those little-discussed but very important forms.

Description: To help agents advise their clients on analyzing their LTCi rate increase options.

Description: "Risk adjustment is an important aspect of establishing appropriate capitation rates. When a set of services is carved out for specific management under a sub-capitation, establishing appropriate adjustments for varying levels of underlying risk is more complicated. Dive into analytical and operational challenges and resolutions as presenters share more about developing a risk adjustment model specific to the carve-out of behavioral health services through a real-life case study. You will further explore a definition of the use case, availability of historical data sets, selection of the modeling approach, learnings from the iterative modeling process, and the potential application of the results. After attending this session, you will be able to: Understand why a behavioral health specific-risk adjustment model has business value Understand the unique challenges related to developing risk adjustment on member and cost subsegments Understand the impact of trade-offs between model complexity and interpretability in the context of implementation Increase awareness of data nuances and requirements unique to this type of project Describe analytic techniques that can be investigated for use in projects of similar business objectives"