Description: Panel session exploring a variety of issues connected to long-term disability reserve buyouts, including: · Advantages and risks for buyers and sellers · Use of appropriate reserving assumptions · Possible financial structures for a buyout

Description: The evolving specialty pharmacy environment has created difficulties for actuaries pricing and forecasting pharmacy coverage. Unpredictable specialty pharmacy trends have increased insurers' earnings volatility and affected members' health care affordability. The presenters will highlight the current specialty drug development pipeline and explore specialty pharmacy drug trend management strategies. They will also provide concepts to help manage the coming wave of gene and cell therapies.

Description: This article discusses the growing number of cases of dementia and its effects on economics and loved ones.

Description: This article presents a view of health care as an economic system, suggests a framework for classifying current criticisms of the system, and offers references for further reading.

Description: Presenters discuss the differences between patient treatment protocols and length-of-stay guidelines, and some of the issues that payers confronted as the protocols were implemented. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 2.

Description: Panelists discuss employers' perspective of defining strategies to identify best-in-market opportunities. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 1.

Description: A proposal to address provider payment issues by gradually moving to accountable care organizations. Capitations would be risk-adjusted, non-capitated costs would be covered by hospitalization fund and stoploss, incentives for quality & effective preventive care would be tied to the amount remaining in the fund, and government involvement would be through incentives rather than mandate.

Description: This session discussed about expected trends in medical care costs, changes in Medicare reimbursement practices and their short- and long-term effects, the emerging responsibility for providing long-term care, rise of managed health care, new and old participants, selection issues, multiple options, and small group market.

Description: Panelists discuss the ongoing influence and long-term implications of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act on the health insurance market in the U.S. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 3.

Description: Data on morbidity, loss ratios, actual-to-expected continuance rates, and lapse rates for disability insurance, and discussion of the implications with respect to legislation, product design, pricing, underwriting, and marketing. This presentation was made at the 1975 SOA Los Angeles Spring Meeting.