Description: More than one million Americans have died in the past decade from drug overdoses, alcohol and suicide. Drug-related deaths have tripled since 2000, alcohol-induced deaths have reached a 35-year high, and suicides increased by 28 percent from 2000 to 2015. With one-fifth of Americans affected by mental illness each year, these epidemics constitute a public health crisis that is projected to worsen without proper interventions. As insurers, employers and state agencies start to seriously address these issues, actuaries well-versed in mental healthcare issues, interventions, and quality assessment will be invaluable partners in efforts to improve behavioral healthcare treatment throughout the country. The presenters have completed significant research concerning the opioid epidemic, suicide rates and the quality of behavioral healthcare treatment in the U.S. and will share patterns and statistics regarding the state of behavioral healthcare in the country, discuss the financial and population health benefits that can be achieved through effective medical-behavioral healthcare integration, and the role that actuaries can play in supporting these efforts. Attendees will walk away understanding the extent of the drug, alcohol, and suicide epidemics in the U.S and the need for a National Resilience Strategy to address them.

Description: Social determinants of health (SDoH) have been a topic of growing interest in recent years, yet consensus about what the phrase represents and how health-related social needs should be studied or addressed by employers, health plans, providers and other stakeholders in the business of health care have been lacking. For many, low-income populations come to mind when considering the topic, yet SDoH include a wide range of factors beyond income. Many types of data are available, yet each presents distinct challenges and opportunities for analysis. In this article, we describe some of the underlying context for considering SDoH, as well as some of the potential data sources to consult and challenges to grapple with on this important topic.

Description: The SOA recently launched the Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program with the release of a new study on the economic impact of opioid abuse. In this session, results of this study will be presented along with insights and plans for the future of the Program.

Description: This report summarizes a study that estimates the total economic burden of the opioid crisis in the United States from 2015 through 2018 and projects future costs of the opioid epidemic for 2019.

Description: This report summarizes a study that estimates the total economic burden of the opioid crisis in the United States from 2015 through 2018 and projects future costs of the opioid epidemic for 2019.