Description: Health Watch Newsletter, May 2006, Issue No. 52. This article presents information from a recently completed client-sponsored survey of hospital contracting best practices. Individual health plans were evaluated using a structured survey document. The primary objective of the survey was to identify best practices that the client sponsor could implement to improve its already better-than-average hospital contracting practices

Description: This report presents results from the study undertaken during 1993 and 1994 by the Direct Response Persistency and Mortality Task Force. Direct response product experience is presented for persistency, and mortality for both underwritten and guaranteed issue products.

Description: This is the third and final installment of an article about using microeconomics and the concepts of embedded value to better manage and understand the profitability of direct marketing programs. The article illustrates how traditional asset share calculations are not appropriate in this case.

Description: 2001 SOA Annual Meeting, New Orleans. Health care cost trends have substantially increased in the past two years. Panelists discussed the factors contributing to these increased trends, the prospect for further increases in the future, and national health care issues.

Description: This article is the first in a four-part series about what actuaries see as ideal components of a health care reform package. This part covers health care reform ideas explored at the Conference of Consulting Actuaries’ CCA 2009 Annual Meeting in Tucson, Ariz.

Description: This article discusses the use of parametric distributions to model health care cost.

Description: The purpose of this literature guide is to provide the reader with sources of information ranging, from introductory to advanced, in the areas of LTC insurance design, marketing, pricing, and valuation.

Description: The last three decades have witnessed an important rise in number of people with diabetes in Asia, especially Type 2 Diabetes. Like no other common condition, numerous innovations are currently entering the healthcare system that will soon have a significant impact on management of the condition. This presentation explores the role played by sensors/wearables, artificial intelligence, new drugs and diabetes apps. We assess the realistic potential of such advancements and give an outlook on medium-term pricing and product development.

Description: This is the second installment of an article about using microeconomics and the concepts of embedded value to better manage and understand the profitability of direct marketing programs.

Description: Methods and assumptions used in the valuation of savings by external care vendors