Description: What is the difference between a Single-Payer and Universal Health Care System, and how could the U.S. implement a system that would reduce the growth of medical costs while increasing quality.

Description: Essay discussing cost, quality and access of healthcare and then describes the need for rationing.

Description: Fifty-three percent of Americans responding to a survey conducted by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute reported that extreme weather events – including hurricanes, tornadoes, heatwaves, wildfires and flooding – have adversely affected their health.

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: This article reviews Canada's Medicare Plan, the Chaoulli Supreme Court decision and looks at factors affecting waiting times. From Health Watch Newsletter, May 2006, Issue No. 52.

Description: In this paper, we shine a light on the global public health epidemic of intimate partner violence (IPV). This first paper presents background information on the problem with a focus on health and economic impacts for the actuarial audience

Description: Introduction to additional actuarial research into development of and regulatory impact, economic impact and consumer impact of prescription drugs in the United States. Intended to further educate actuaries and others who work in this area and motivate more actuarial involvement to increase transparency, increase competition, better align stakeholder incentives and better mitigate total cost of care increases

Description: New NCQA Quality Assessment Program for PPOs discussing rationale and performance meansurements, Issue No. 38.

Description: This article talks about the challenges facing the FDA, especially those arising from the globalization of the pharmaceutical supply chain.