Description: This article provides the perspective of the Health Section's chairperson on Section activities, educational programs and the US healthcare environment.

Description: This is Part 2 of 2 on changes affecting Medigap insurers. It focuses on marketing and regulatory differences between Medigap and Medicare Advantage that affect the competitiveness of Medigap plans.

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: An economics professor and a health care consumer advocate weigh in on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including implementation issues, directions for the future and what role actuaries shoudl take.

Description: A new initiative, Commercial Health Care: What’s Next, will focus on education and research for health actuaries regarding issues that remain with the ACA.

Description: This article summarizes 2012 AAA activities relating to the Affordable Care Act implementation, including work on the Amicus Brief for the Supreme Court Decision, MLR regulations, Actuarial Value, Rate Review, Essential Health Benefits and work with the NAIC.

Description: Part one of a two part series explores implementation issues for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 MHPAEA.

Description: A proposal to reform the health care provider payment system through: a national fee schedule, shifting more reimbursements to primary care providers, better integration of hospital & physician fees, evidence based care, pay for performance, and a better provider risk sharing mechanism.

Description: Introduction to population health, a collaborative discipline that seeks to leverage all the determinants of health personal behaviors, medical care and the public health infrastructure, as well as the social and economic context at the community and national level to maximize the health of populations.

Description: Update on Health Section research projects and topics, including new vision and mission statements for the Health Section Council, research and communications projects, and information about the Health Actuarial Research Initiative.