Description: This study used commercial data held by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) and Medicare fee-for-service data to analyze health care cost differences by age and their contribution to overall health care cost change. The commercial data includes claims from 2002 through 2010 and the Medicare data includes claims from 2006 through 2010.

Description: In the course of consulting engagements, actuaries almost always find they need one or more of the following resources: -Healthcare data, which may be at the individual patient level or on a particular population. -Health services research studies which describe, summarize, try to alter, or predict patients’ use of health resources. -Health policy information, which describe public or private actions which affect the access, cost and quality of medical care. This document describes the ever-changing resources and specifies where they may be obtained.

Description: This session discussion is about controls on utilization, eligibility control, pricing considerations, benefit design, mail order programs and physician dispensing. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 1.

Description: This session discussion is about high cost claimants in medical benefit plans and how to control costs and anti-selection. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 3B.

Description: This session is about the details of the inception and implementation of the Oregon Health Plan. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 18, No. 1B.

Description: The medical and behavioral health care provider communities have long debated whether high-quality behavioral health care reduces medical costs. This presentation from Session 85PD of the SOA 1996 Colorado Springs Meeting reviews past studies relating to medical cost offsets and explores the potential magnitude of such design and delivery of medical and behavioral health care programs to encourage potential health care cost savings and to increase wellness. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 22, No. 2.

Description: This session presents information sources used in tracking health technologies, the value of health technology assessments and clinical data typically available. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 31, No. 2, Session 4

Description: Pilot study made determining a satisfactory form for future experience studies under major medical expense insurance.

Description: This is the second half of a two-part session regarding FASB Targeted Improvement (LDTI) to U.S. GAAP for long durational insurance contracts. Presenters of the session will discuss operational (e.g., data, systems, models and process, etc.) and financial issues concerning the implementation of the accounting changes. We will also discuss interpretation of the new standards specific to accident and health insurance. Throughout the session, we would like to encourage the audience to share their experiences.

Description: Countries developing universal health care via an insurance vehicle face a variety of challenges. Deciding which benefits to include, where to proactively manage health, and how to reimburse network providers are just a sampling of the issues governments concurrently manage. Optimal choices are data-driven responses. For example, high rates of cervical cancer or increasing narcotics prescriptions are trends that can be managed through product changes, modified network payment structures, or even employer based outreach. This kind of information is typically gleaned from established health insurance claims data. However, in emerging health insurance markets, this level of granular claims data is largely missing. It is difficult to manage medical trend when the root causes are unclear. This article explores a pilot medical underwriting project in Jordan.