Description: Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), groups with 50 or less full time employee equivalents will eventually be subject to the ACA’s modified community rating rules. While some groups will see lower premiums than they would have without the ACA, others will see significant premium increases. Many of the latter type opted for transitional relief beginning in 2014 to avoid the ACA as long as possible. With the end of transitional relief approaching in 2018, what will these groups do? One option will be to self-insure using a product generically termed Level Funding.

Description: Results of an SOA survey regarding the expectation for 2015 accruals for 3Rs and cost sharing reduction payments

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: Discussion about career events for an actuary working on health care reform

Description: This article provides an overview of the key provisions and impacts of the Affordable Care Act's Cadillac Plan Excise Tax.

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

Description: Feature article discussing limited benefit health plans as alternative options to address a national crisis—health care for the working uninsured.

Description: This paper describes a new major medical policy from The Equitable. The author describes the policy and discusses anticipated claims experience and the calculation of gross premiums. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955 Volume 7, Number 17.

Description: This article discusses the challenges and unknowns relating to the regulatory inclusion of pediatric dental benefits within the essential benefits list of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Description: October 2012 issue of Health Watch newsletter