Description: The Health Section chairperson discusses the past year's activity, especially the Visions for the Future of the U.S. Health Care System essay contest, and an update on the Untapped Opportunities for Actuaries in Health initiative.

Description: Announcement of changes to the LTC Section, and a preview of the articles in the December 2009 issue of Long Term Care News, with topics including Health care reform and LTC vs. Medicaid.

Description: Developing a formal strategy to guide the SOA’s activities with respect to public policy-related topics is underway. Recent experience shows that non-partisan contributions through the SOA’s research are already adding value to important public policy discussions.

Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate and influence health care policymakers on issues including principles for health care reform, Medicare, wellness programs, and solvency.

Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate health care policymakers on issues including principles for reform, Medicare, the individual insurance market, and risk factors.

Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to conduct research and educate health care policymakers on issues including principles for market reform, individual insurance, and risk factors.

Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate health care policymakers on issues including health care reform, Medicare, loss ratios, premium review, reinsurance, benefit and eligibility changes, exchanges, and risk based capital.

Description: Updates on HPC activities, including new work groups for providing input to key players as health care reform moves on from the legislative phase into the regulatory phase, as well as ongoing activities of existing workgroups in financial reporting, long term care, stop loss, disease management, Medicare SUpplement, sovency, cancer claims experience, and risk adjustment.