Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate and influence health care policymakers on issues including principles for health care reform, Medicare, wellness programs, and solvency.

Description: Summary of testimony by an AAA Board member before a congressional subcommittee, as an expert on risk assessment and adjustment, especially in relation to Medicare risk contracting and HMO payments. She recommended: mitigating the geographical region values, credibility weights for payments to health plans, carving out high cost claim segments, reengineering the ACR methodology, shifting AAPCC methodology from fee-for-service toward competitive bidding, and further projects to improve risk methods.

Description: The SOA is shining a spotlight on its research activities as it migrates into the areas of public policy and other relevant topics.

Description: This discussion looks at principles which should govern the determination of the respective proportions of earnings to be allocated to policyholders and stockholders, the level of contingency reserves and surplus which should be maintained, and looks at the extent to which the mandatory Security Valuation Reserve should affect the level of unassigned surplus.

Description: This discussion looks at ways non-government actuaries have served their government, the methods followed for recruitment of actuarial personnel for government service, recently developed mortality experiences and/or tables under government insurance, insurance department reviews of valuations, pensions plans and medical/hospital organization, and benefits for government actuaries.

Description: Open meeting of the Society's Health Benefit Systems Practice Advancement Committee and Health Section Council, as well as the American Academy of Actuaries' Health Practice Council. The three committees review ongoing projects in the Health Practice area. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 2.

Description: From the 1985 Valuation Actuary Symposium A perspective on the role of the valuation actuary and how it has and will change in the USA, Canada, and the UK.

Description: Discusses a variety of regulatory issues relative to pension plans, the professional responsibilities of pension consultants, and criteria which should be applied for determining assumptions, actuarial cost method and modifications in evaluating disability benefits. Also discusses determination of qualified actuary to represent client before the IRS.

Description: Discussion of some of the debated aspects of the new health care law from an actuarial principles perspective.

Description: An economics professor and a health care consumer advocate weigh in on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including implementation issues, directions for the future and what role actuaries shoudl take.