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: Opioids overdoses have contributed to increases in mortality among white American. This article gives some detail on the speed and the reach of the epidemic.

Description: In 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) adopted significant revisions to the U.S. GAAP insurance accounting literature, via Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-12. The title of ASU 2018-12 is “Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts,” and as a result a common acronym for ASU 2018-12 is LDTI (long-duration targeted improvements).

Description: During the past few years, performance, cost, and risk trends for Medigap products have undergone substantial changes. Some of these trends could ease cost pressures on Medigap insurers, while others might increase them. Part 1 of this Issue Brief article discusses current changing trends and considerations around about how they are impacting Medigap.

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: Health Care in Ireland public care, private insurance, risk adjustment Issue No. 39.

Description: Article describes how Medicare Medical Savings Plans work and why they would be attractive option for insurance companies.

Description: This article attempts to make a modest contribution to the dialogue on the potential and risks associated with novel treatments such as cell & gene therapies. With a fast-expanding roster of what are believed to be one-time treatments at ever increasing price points aimed at curing a wider swatch of the population, they are as much a source of relief for patients stuck in medical limbo, as they are a source of anxiety for payers.

Description: Discussion of how to mature value-based contracts between health insurers and provider organizations to improve population health and financial sustainability. Centers around contract parameter consistency, revenue predictability and risk assessment. Intended audience are health plan and ACO actuaries and leaders. Authors are writing from the provider perspective in value-based contracts.

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.