Description: Two years ago, before COVID-19 changed everything about how we provide and receive health care, telehealth was largely provided by third-party vendors to treat a narrow range of acute one-and-done conditions. The value proposition was simple: a fast and easy member experience would drive satisfaction and engagement; high member satisfaction and engagement would drive health plan savings and member retention. Clearly, from the perspective of utilization, telehealth—as a viable alternative to in-person care during a pandemic—worked. And with COVID-19’s nudge—or was that a push?—toward cultural acceptance, the health care system is in a better position to capitalize on telehealth’s original promise of expanded access, lower cost and better outcomes than it was two years ago. But in the wake of the pandemic, it is just as clear to us that if telehealth is to live up to its full potential, some changes are needed. The rest of this article presents five ideas for improving the delivery of telehealth going forward.

Description: Discusses the recent firing of the Social Security Commissioner and the president's legal authority to do so.

Description: Author highlights historical nonforfeiture and federal tax law changes, as they have impacted life product designs, in prognosticating about future product designs.

Description: This article discusses the court cases dealing with the severability of the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act. Severability is related to essentiality, and actuarial input was relied upon to determine essentiality. The article concludes with lessons that actuaries should learn from the legal proceedings.

Description: This session at the SOA 2001 Toronto Spring Meeting looks at the issue of federal versus state regulation of insurance. Activities of the ACLI to develop an optional federal charter for companies and activities of the NAIC to improve speed to market are discussed.

Description: Stakeholders in a specific state (Minnesota) were interviewed about the potential value -- and obstacles -- of a catastrophic backstop program to handle long term care (LTC) financing needs. The design would entail a payroll deduction which would produce a fund to pay LTC expenses once a deductible period (of 1 to 4 years, depending on income) was reached. This design was believed to encourage enrollees to cover the front end better than done today, whether by private insurance or other means.

Description: LEARN is an offering to regulators about reinsurance. This article summarizes a session held for Brazilian health regulators in the fall of 2022.

Description: 2021 ImpACT Conference - Session 7D: Commissioner's Roundtable 10.27.21 Recording

Description: 2021 ImpACT Conference - Session 1D: Reserved Roles for Actuaries in Defined Contribution Plans 10.25.21 Recording

Description: This session will kick off the key National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) activities, with a primary focus on updates to principle-based reserve valuations and appointed actuary topics. The presenters will provide insights into the current set of activities and initiatives being considered by the NAIC Life Actuarial Task Force (LATF) and Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group, as well as activities being undertaken by American Academy of Actuaries committees and work groups.