Description: As actuaries in health care, we spend most of our time focused on reviewing claims, enrollment and clinical data. That information is captured while patients are in health care facilities. Yet most people spend only a small fraction of their time in these facilities. This article explores what types of data are available to actuaries the provide a more holistic view of the member so that a members physical and emotional needs, the social determinants of health can be taken into consideration along with their clinical needs. Two uses cases are presented so actuaries can see how these types of analyses can be leveraged to improve clinical, operational, and financial performance of risk bearing health entities. Understanding the customer (member) not just the patient enables actuaries to provide new insights and values to our stakeholders across a wide range of business and risk applications.

Description: Discussion of developments with regards to addressing major medical care needs since 1959, including the passage of Medicare.

Description: Description and layout of the Group Medical Claims Database from the 1997–1999 Group Medical Insurance Database and Analysis Report.

Description: This session from the 1992 Valuation Actuary Symposium reviews the appointed actuary concept, the actuarial opinion and asset adequacy analysis as they apply to health insurance and expresses the views of one regulator on the subject and one actuary in terms of the actuarial standards of practice.

Description: Intended for actuaries interested in understanding more about the Medical Loss Ratio and the impact Quality Improving Activities (QIA) and fraud reduction expenses have on the rebate calculation. This session will focus on what expenses qualifies as QIA, examples of programs from major carriers, current regulations and the differences between commercial, and Medicare, and Medicaid requirements.

Description: This discussion is on the availability of utilization and cost experience data for group medical care insurance coverages. Specifically, it highlights the role of the Society of Actuaries in intercompany data collection, employer demands for sophisticated utilization data for comparison by industry and geographic location, sources of industry-wide data, data resource potential of health claims processing by the National Electronic Information Corporation, and antitrust implications. From Record of the Society of Actuaries 1981, Volume 7, No. 4.

Description: September’s Actuary contained an excellent summary by Drew Davidoff of renewal rating for small group medical business. Among the techniques he describes are age, sex, and area rating, experience rating using credibility, experience rating using tiers, examination of the diagnoses in the claim file, and initial and reentry medical underwriting.

Description: This discussion on major medical expense insurance examines the trends in the types of plans sold, popularity of the comprehensive type of medical expense insurance plan, special problems, and dependent coverage. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 29 AB.

Description: Examines the trends affecting the distribution system for the industry's products, and the regulatory and tax environment in which life companies operate. Also looks briefly at the state of competition in the industry.

Description: Through the sponsorship of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Society of Actuaries partnered with Wakely to use their health care data to study the effects of COVID-19 on overall health care claims for individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis. The conclusion of the study is that individuals with COVID-19 claims had significant increases in health care costs leading up to their months of diagnosis, as well as in the months following their diagnosis. These effects were more pronounced for individuals who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 as well as for individuals with prior co-morbidities. Finally, the overall health care costs of these members plateaued at significantly higher levels than their pre-COVID baselines. In fact, all the main membership cohorts experienced claim levels that were at least 20% higher than their pre-COVID starting points.