Description: An introduction to the ACA@10 Strategic Initiative, which examines the impact of the Affordable Care Act 10 years after its passage.

Description: Actuaries are currently familiar with the impact of new technologies used primarily by clinicians and health care providers, such as new drugs and devices. The common theme emerging from many of the articles points to a technological revolution in health care accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis this year. Actuaries need to understand these technologies, their impact, learn how to drive this technological change and guide the response of their profession and their own health care organizations.

Description: This is the conference report that documents the inaugural event for Initiative 18|11, which was held in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2018. Initiative 18|11 is a joint venture between the Society of Actuaries and the Kaiser Family Foundation. It is focused on determining action steps that can be taken to address the rising cost of health care in the United States.

Description: This article summarizes a joint SOA/Kaiser Family Foundation initiative focused on addressing the rising cost of health care in the United States.

Description: Disruptive changes will create opportunities for health actuaries as we help health plans develop their overall strategy.

Description: Large claims have always been a major source of volatility in health care claims experience. In this session, the presenters will discuss techniques for analyzing large claims, predicting large claims and measuring the associated risk. The presenters will also discuss the early results of the SOA 5/50 research project which will examine the 5% of the population that accounts for 50% of the health care costs.

Description: Back in the day, when data was scarce and computers were slow, actuaries were forced to use simple methods to account for risk. By far, the most common method was to add a margin, usually 5% to a “best estimate” calculation. Remarkedly, this method still works quite well in the aggregate. The problem is that, in many cases, decisions today require a more in-depth analysis. For example, how big a risk is a health plan really taking if it lowers its premiums by 10% to attract more members? This session will discuss techniques for measuring risk in today’s environment. Speakers will also share the results from the 5/50 research project, which forms the foundation for the techniques.

Description: How does where you live impact your health? The following research considers this question through the lens of social determinants of health (SDOH), which are factors relating to where you live or work that may impact your health. In the United States, there are geographical differences in SDOH which contribute to wide disparities in health status and outcomes. In particular, individuals who are negatively affected by SDOH may have an increased burden of disease, leading to a relatively high total cost of care and worse quality of life.

Description: Update on Council activities

Description: The authors discuss current and future efforts to expand the services the Society of Actuaries is able to provide members and other stakeholders in China and to support the growth of the profession there.