Description: This document provides key findings from the 2007 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey related to health and long-term care risks in retirement.

Description: An analysis of prescription drug use in the Kansas individual market

Description: In this, the second step, Sibson engaged the vendor and actuarial communities to solicit input on the actuarial model for determining the impact of various environmental, lifestyle and behavioral risk factors. The goal was to understand the extent to which actuaries currently use models around wellness, refine the above conceptual model, and better understand the potential uses of, and value to, the actuarial and vendor communities that would use such a model. We sought to understand the potential applications and sources of data for the actuarial model. We gathered input on how the model would best suit the professional needs and help shape the future role of the actuary. Lastly, we gathered feedback on the above conceptual model.

Description: Using the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) database, we examined which characteristics best predict and describe high-cost members.

Description: This is a sequel to Panjer's paper. The Walter Reeed Staging Method - WRSM - is a method that groups patients infected with HIV into various stages. This paper looks at mathematically modeling the transition process of HIV by using the WRSM. This paper argues that Panjer's results are biased and understates the average time it will take an HIV life to develop AIDS.

Description: This document provides an explanation of the Health Company Pandemic Modeling tool excel workbook and gives step by step instructions for companies to enter specific scenarios and assumptions.

Description: This Society of Actuaries Research Brief has been constructed to highlight some of the key features of the pandemic and contemplate the risks for the actuarial profession to consider in their work.

Description: The SOA Research Institute Catastrophe and Climate Strategic Research Program released a report that explores the shifting geography of Lyme Disease in the U.S. and beyond and some of the potential determinants of its spread. Lyme Disease is a well-known disease particularly in the eastern U.S., and it is also prevalent in other geographies. This report researches the complex relationship between climate variables and the spread of Lyme Disease in the United States.

Description: This study aims to answer the question of how much of an episode’s cost and use of specific services can be attributed to the patient’s own health status, as opposed to being driven by other factors such as the care setting, patient preference, and provider practice patterns. In other words, do episode costs vary so widely because of patient characteristics, including health status, or are they related to other, nonclinical factors?

Description: This Society of Actuaries Research Brief has been constructed to highlight some of the key features of the pandemic and contemplate the risks for the actuarial profession to consider in their work.