Description: Essay recommending establishing a consistent and actuarially sound foundation for assessing the costs and benefits of each and every current and new Medicare or other healthcare proposal.

Description: This research report is sponsored by The Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries on the Canadian health care system. Performed by Stéphane Levert, FSA, FCIA, the study (available in French and English) estimated the future costs of the Canadian health care system, assessed the sustainability of the system over a 25-year horizon, and analyzed the implications of the changes to the Canada Health Transfer proposed on Dec. 19, 2011 by the federal government. The report summarizing the findings indicates that, without significant government intervention, the Canadian health care system in its current form is not sustainable.

Description: The Health Section chairperson discusses the past year's activity, especially the Visions for the Future of the U.S. Health Care System essay contest, and an update on the Untapped Opportunities for Actuaries in Health initiative.

Description: Task Force report on life insurance company sales illustration practices from the perspective of the consumer. The study analyzes how well current illustration practices serve their primary functions of: 1. showing the consumer their policy values and premium payments over time, and 2. projecting best estimates of future performance and providing cost and performance comparisons with other policies.

Description: This research report is sponsored by The Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries on the Canadian health care system. Performed by Stéphane Levert, FSA, FCIA, the study (available in French and English) estimated the future costs of the Canadian health care system, assessed the sustainability of the system over a 25-year horizon, and analyzed the implications of the changes to the Canada Health Transfer proposed on Dec. 19, 2011 by the federal government. The report summarizing the findings indicates that, without significant government intervention, the Canadian health care system in its current form is not sustainable.

Description: Description of the consulting segment of the actuarial profession as it now exists in Canada and the United States, the environment in which it has developed, and some of the unresolved problems and possible future developments. Followed by discussion papers submitted by 2 authors

Description: Overview of the newly released final version of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board's Section 3462, Employee Future Benefits, and its effect on pension and post-employment-plan accounting.

Description: Overview of Medicare's 1979 financial projections under optimistic, pessimistic, and intermediate assumptions, for the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance programs.

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

Description: This article presents a view of health care as an economic system, suggests a framework for classifying current criticisms of the system, and offers references for further reading.