Description: This report is a summary of a meeting session that occurred at the SOA's 1976 Spring Meeting in Washington D.C. The general discussion was related to employee benefit plans funding and cost. Specific topics covered included: impact of inflation on non-pension benefit plans, methods used to cope with inflation, and the effect of social insurance on inflation.

Description: This section presents book reviews and summaries of recent publications on a variety of topics.

Description: Early description of a Medicare data source showing geographic differences by county and state.

Description: The always popular Medicaid Hot Topics session is back with discussions from an expert panel on the most riveting Medicaid topics of the year. These could include the following: • Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Proposed Regulations• Tennessee's Block Grant Proposal• ACA court battles: What are the potential impacts on Medicaid? • Pass-through payments are converting to directed payments: What is changing?• And more current topics of interest to Medicaid actuariesMedicaid is dynamic and it is difficult to stay current on all of the changes. This session provides insightful discussion into the major changes that impact actuaries and their companies or state clients.

Description: This section presents book reviews and summarizes recent publications on subjects that include U.K. social insurance, financing of hospital care, state examinations of life companies, approximate valuation of life and health insurance, mortality forecasting, and valuing estate tax.

Description: This is an introduction to the SOA call for essays around risk strategies pertaining to the diverse risks found in retirement. We are pleased that these essays can be included in this issue of Pension Section News, along with a short interview with each author.

Description: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act affects all exchanges of health information. It has a major impact on health-care management and the distribution of health information used in underwriting and claim management practices for all medical and non-medical lines. Also discussed are changes to Medicare, Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, and a proposed prescription drug plan under Medicare. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 27, No. 1, Session 24PD of the Dallas Spring Meeting.