Description: The medical scheme approach adopted by several African countries has failed to meet the needs of those in informal employment and rural communities. This is partly due to affordability amongst these individuals as well as a lack of awareness of how healthcare financing products work. Community based healthcare organisations have achieved greater levels of success in this regard by carefully incorporating the peculiarities of communities in benefit design and involving community members in the management of these healthcare solutions. There are lessons to be garnered from the countries where these have been implemented with some level of success. Even as countries aim towards universal health coverage, observing the unique needs of different communities within a country is essential to ensure resources are utilised efficiently and that healthcare needs are targeted effectively.

Description: From a session at a meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Las Vegas, NV May 22-24, 2000 The American Academy of Actuaries had put together an ad hoc task force charged with developing a long-term strategic approach for marketing the profession to future users of actuarial services and to strategically position and strengthen the profession. This session provided an update on the progress of the task force.

Description: Essay offers a vision of health care where everyone is covered, everyone is eligible, receives fair pricing, receives vital information and is taxed the same.

Description: An essay suggesting a health care financing system.

Description: Article focusing on the current and future state of health insurance in the U.S.

Description: A health actuary describes her journey as a parent of a child with medical needs, and the complexities associated with navigating the health insurance industry.

Description: The article discusses the sustainability of the ACA individual market from a public entitlement standpoint. A key point of measuring sustainability is the reliance on market forces rather than federal budget constraints. The article explains why an actuarial viewpoint of sustainability is necessary to a greater extent than other public assistance and social insurance programs. The article challenges actuaries to be a bold, objective voice in a space that is full of opinionated but often uninformed viewpoints.

Description: Actuaries should understand the economic considerations involved in the formulary drug decision-making process, and the presence of actuarial input in the process could improve it, especially by tying it to overall decision making for the health plan. From Prescription Drugs Monograph, M-HB04-1.

Description: To persuade successfully and non-manipulatively, it’s important to understand five key principles of influence. In this four-part series, I’ll be covering these five principles that are based on human psychology and behavior. Let’s look at the first two now.

Description: This article is about a session held at the October 1996 annual meeting, which focused on how actuaries can move beyond traditional employers.