Description: The presenters will focus on best practices in drug claim management in North America. The presentation is geared toward Canadian practice and insights, but is useful for practitioners in the U.S. and elsewhere, as well.

Description: A study of disability experience examines cost burden and degree of disability, and how these measures vary across different subpopulations.

Description: This is the abstract to the paper, A Comparative Analysis of Chronic and Non-Chronic Insured Commercial Member Cost Trends.

Description: Discussion of “Health Expectancy” paper and reply from author, Faye Albert. Discussion of Human Behavior: An Impediment to Future Mortality and Discussion of Health, Wealth and Wisdom - Living Long, Living Well: An Actuary Muses on Longevity

Description: This paper addresses specific details of measurement principles and practice that the actuary should consider when planning to conduct or review a study of care management interventions. Three major topics are covered: Measurement Principles, Study Design Issues, and Risk Factors. Paper 2 of an 8 paper series on 'An Introduction to Care Management Interventions and Their Implications for Actuaries'

Description: Summary of cost-reduction and quality improvement within the disease management sector. Paper 4 of an 8 paper series on 'An Introduction to Care Management Interventions and Their Implications for Actuaries'.

Description: This paper describes an actuarial methodology for evaluating disease management outcomes. We address several important issues in this paper: • Control of exposure, • Identification of measured populations, and • Ensuring equivalence between baseline and intervention populations. - Paper 6 of an 8 paper series on 'An Introduction to Care Management Interventions and Their Implications for Actuaries'.

Description: This article discusses a study of the impact of the drug infliximab on Crohn's disease patients. This study had been approved in response to an SOA request for proposals for research on the health cost and utilization effects of a specific prescription drug.

Description: This article from major US payers describes palliative care as a scaleable means of improving quality and reducing costs during serious and complex illness.

Description: Attendees will learn about new and emerging techniques for optimizing health care utilization from the highest users of health care. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 28, No. 2, Session 129