Description: This paper discussed providing consumers of medical care with transparent and comparable price and quality information to enable them to make economically optimal decisions.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of a critical illness rider to be launched on a guaranteed level term product. The paper addresses the following topics: market needs analysis, design considerations, benefit design, pricing assumption, and development of pricing model and pricing results, including sensitivity testing.

Description: Essay recommending establishing a consistent and actuarially sound foundation for assessing the costs and benefits of each and every current and new Medicare or other healthcare proposal.

Description: The article offers a more nuanced approach to caregiving as the population ages, suggesting our current focus on planning leaves out most people. Instead find solutions for non-planners!

Description: In 2007 the International Accounting Standards Board IASB released a discussion paper proposing a new accounting model for insurance contracts, known as the current exit value model. One aspect of the proposed accounting model is that claim liabilities would need to include explicit margins satisfying certain criteria. Currently it is common for U.S. medical insurers to include explicit margins in their claim liabilities. However, we demonstrate that the margin approach most commonly used today by U.S. medical insurers does not satisfy the objectives articulated in the IASB discussion paper regarding the role of margins. We then propose a new formula for including explicit margins in U.S. medical insurance claim liabilities in a manner that is more compatible with the principles articulated in the IASB discussion paper. Finally, we illustrate our proposed claim liability formula using an example drawn from real-life data.

Description: “E-Cigarettes: A Hazard or a Help?” by Sam Gutterman was published online in the North American Actuarial Journal on December 18, 2019, and in print in Volume 24, 2020–Issue 4. This essay is the author’s update to the original paper; it has not been peer-reviewed

Description: “E-Cigarettes: A Hazard or a Help?” by Sam Gutterman was published online in the North American Actuarial Journal on December 18, 2019, and in print in Volume 24, 2020–Issue 4. This essay is the author’s update to the original paper; it has not been peer-reviewed. The essay is solely an expression of the views, opinions, and ideas of the essay author for applying the original research to actuarial work.

Description: The traditional informal care of/by family has faced increasing geographic and economic challenges from changing family households and sources of family income. Financial planning and risk protection tools provide important resource in the changing retirement landscape toward optimal family support and crisis management, that is, with less duress and financial burden to affected family caregivers. Ultimately, maintaining family values and close communications through evolving family structures are key to a healthy society and economic welfare of the people.

Description: Essay offers a vision of health care where everyone is covered, everyone is eligible, receives fair pricing, receives vital information and is taxed the same.

Description: This paper describes in detail each of five options available to small Texas employers wanting to purchase insurance for their employees. It then describes the advantages and disadvantages to the various players: carriers, employers, employees, and agents. It points out that each player will act in its own interest.