Description: The editor of Health Watch previews the articles in this issue.

Description: Discussion on the future of permanent life insurance. The panel examines whether cash value life insurance will continue in light of uncertain economic future, double digit inflation, competitive term products, replacements, increasing policy loans, attractive alternative savings products and the consumerist/regulatory atmosphere. g. Consumerist and regulatory atmosphere? h. Possible changes in tax, nonforfeiture and valuation laws?

Description: Summary of discussions from various panelists on the topic of Social Security. They looked at recent developments with respect to general legislation expanding coverage, discussion of the Constitutional issues with respect to Social Security, developing experience of the new Canadian old-age pension plan, inadequacy of the funding levels relative to promised benefits for both the Canadian old-age plan and US Social Security.

Description: This session focused on issues related to term life insurance. Topics included 1. Term life insurance products in the 1980's 2. Assumptions and experience 3. Term insurance marketing and distribution including sales compensation approaches.

Description: This open forum, which occurred at the October 1982 Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., discussed the future of traditional Society of Actuaries meetings. Topics discussed included: 1. What do Society meetings offer? 2. What else could they offer? 3. What is offered elsewhere in my specialty? 4. How could Society of Actuaries meetings be made more meaningful? A discussion of the special interest sections and seminars on special interest topics was also discussed.

Description: From a session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 Prior to 1999, Glass-Steagall legally separated banking, brokerage, and insurance activities. Enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act brings “down the walls,” separating these financial industries. This session talks about the financial services modernization law and the impact it will have.

Description: Highlights from the 8th Intercompany Long-Term Care Insurance Conference held in March 2008, consisting of 56 sessions covering a range of long-term care insurance LTCI topics each with a track-specific focus.

Description: Recently, the SCAN Foundation, AARP, LeadingAge, and HHS funded economic modeling conducted by Milliman and the Urban Institute around LTC reform elements. The LTC industry has over the years also generated ideas to address the on-coming expansion of LTC needs in the U.S. For this article, we have brought together three individuals who have long involvement with LTC financing to discuss some of the recent ideas and provide some perspectives on their pluses and minuses.

Description: Discussion of various alternatives for financing health care.: It discussed providers,the uninsured employers of uninsured workers, employers through taxes , assessment on health insurance and general revenues.

Description: This is a discussion of the medical loss ratio, the confusion and debate over the calculation method under the new MLR requirement, and the opportunities it presents to consulting actuaries.