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: Remarks on the attitudes underlying the stalling of health care reform legislation.

Description: The editors of Health Watch have made health care reform the focus of the Sepctember 2009 issue, and provide an introduction to the issue's contents.

Description: A proposal to reform current health care market, from a 'preferred payer' system, in which Medicare and Medicaid pay less than the true cost while others must then pay more, to a 'value for money' system. This would be achieved by requiring providers to bill all patients the same rate for the same services, with a standard bundling format to make all providers' rate differences transparent. Differences between billed charges and what Medicare pays would be made up by the Medicare patient, rather than subsidized by those outside of Medicare.

Description: We propose using premiums and tax revenue to fund high-cost individuals in the Individual ACA market.

Description: An overview of the issues behind reimbursing providers on a bundled or packaged basis. The article presents the potential advantages offered by the proponents as well as the criticisms and obstacles to implementing this type of payment system.

Description: Panel discussion focusing on managing health care costs.

Description: Discusses effect of allowing companies to sell health insurance policy in any state, if approved in one state, without requiring approval in any other state.