Description: Discussion regarding who's to blame for cost increase, Government's role to ensure coverage and keep costs down, steps to control costs, plan design changes. Issue No. 47.

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

Description: An update on HMO market trends and reinsurance products, and services supporting them.

Description: Recently, actuaries have become more involved in formulary decisions due to high and variable pharmacy cost and utilization trends. How can actuaries and pharmaceutical manufacturers work together to better predict the market while covering key drugs? What discussions are currently taking place between manufacturers and payers? Is there value in these discussions that actuaries are missing? This presentation will provide both actuarial and manufacturer perspectives in order to create a mutual understanding that will begin to direct future conversations to benefit both stakeholders.

Description: Panel discussion about ways can insurance carriers and health care coalitions work together, what data are coalitions requesting from health carriers, how health carriers respond to those requests, and implications for health carriers.

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: An examination of LTCI rate increases from three different perspectives: the insurance company, the policyholder, and the insurance department.

Description: This session is about health underwriting cycle. Topics include recent experience, forecasting where the industry is heading, and what will a federal program do to the cycle. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 19. No. 4B.

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.