Description: This article discusses a study of the impact of the drug infliximab on Crohn's disease patients. This study had been approved in response to an SOA request for proposals for research on the health cost and utilization effects of a specific prescription drug.

Description: In physics and engineering education, Fermi problems require solutions based on good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, involving making justified guesses and deducing bounds without using sophisticated tools. The idea of Fermi problems are of particular relevance to today's actuaries, as pricing, reserving, and financial reporting involve more and more complex stochastic components. The paper discusses some approximate solutions developed in academia in the spirit of Fermi problems.

Description: Four appendices are attached to the monograph: a letter requesting information, two letters requesting participation, and a set of general database specifications. From Group Medical Insurance Large Claims Database Collections and Analysis, M-HB97-1.

Description: Chapter 1 presents the background to the current study, followed by the methodology used, and a summary of the findings of the study. From Group Medical Insurance Large Claims Database Collection and Analysis, M-HB97-1.