Description: After the bid process, desk review, rebate reallocation, an “enjoyable” audit, and open enrollment; the Medicare plan year starts. Throughout the year, organizations find it pertinent to get an accurate picture of their Part D liability as reinsurance, LICS (Low Income Cost-Sharing) subsidy, and risk corridors are accrued. Attendees will learn about the basics of Part D accruals, how future accrual amounts are estimated based on patterns in the data, and how bid assumptions versus actual results impact plan sponsor profitability. We will also discuss financial statement treatment of these items. Real-life examples from bids to outcomes will be provided to enhance the discussion. Ultimately, attendees will come away with a deeper understanding how their bid assumptions play out, and how they can use Part D accruals to plan for future bid development.

Description: More and more providers are desiring risk-based contracts instead of traditional FFS-based contracts. This session is intended to outline some of the actuarial best practices in risk-based contracting related to the many flavors of the CMS ACO programs, as well as Commercial risk-based contracts.

Description: This session will explore the national landscape of state Medicaid risk adjustment program design & application and the key differences that drive effective managed care organization program management. Risk adjustment is a mechanism to adjust capitation rates between Managed Care Organizations to account for population morbidity differences. Although many states utilize this mechanism, the application of risk adjustment can vary significantly across states. The primary differences include populations, risk score models and data collection. These state application nuances affect the strategies and tactics utilized by MCOs for effective risk adjustment program management including provider financial alignment, encounter data submission and the capture of accurate diagnosis codes. The session is intended for Medicaid Managed Care Actuaries working to develop or support comprehensive risk adjustment program management functions.

Description: A review of strategies for non-ACA products for small employers including level-funded plans, association health plans (AHPs), and multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs). Discussion will focus on market trends, strategy, pricing, and block management. Session will include some audience participation via polling so audience can crowd source information and identify industry trends.

Description: In Medicaid rate development, actuaries have not historically shared models that developed the margin (i.e., underwriting gain) assumption. This is unfortunate, given the margin assumption is one of the most critical components of the rate development in ensuring financial solvency of the Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). In this session, we will discuss the primary components of the this assumption and will share working models that help actuaries quantify these components—including the cost of capital and risk (or contingency) margin. We expect a lively discussion as we “open the black box” and discuss these actuarial assumptions in the public for the first time.

Description: This session will explore the various methods of determining the credibility levels that are given to various size employer groups and Medicare plans. The background and theory of the methods that have commonly been used will be explained and then some new data-driven research in the area and possible alternatives will be discussed.

Description: Intended for actuaries interested in understanding more about the Medical Loss Ratio and the impact Quality Improving Activities (QIA) and fraud reduction expenses have on the rebate calculation. This session will focus on what expenses qualifies as QIA, examples of programs from major carriers, current regulations and the differences between commercial, and Medicare, and Medicaid requirements.

Description: Dental care is an important component of everyone's health, and senior citizens are no exception. With no public dental coverage under traditional Medicare, seniors must seek other ways to obtain dental insurance, pay for services out of pocket, or go without care. In this session we will review the importance of oral care to overall health, the current state of public and private dental insurance for seniors, and innovative ways to reach this population. Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and other types of dental coverage will be discussed by three actuaries with different areas of expertise in the senior dental market.

Description: "The ACA RADV Program will begin to impact issuers’ risk transfers in the 2018 benefit year (BY) – potentially significantly. The program is expected to continue into the 2019 BY and beyond. Therefore, health actuaries working in the ACA market need to understand this program and its potential impact.The session includes panel experts who will provide attendees with high-level overview of the program, discuss the findings from a national study, and RADV’s ultimate impact to risk transfers, as well as downstream impacts to financial and pricing decisions. The nationwide study is based on 300+ issuers’ 2016 RADV results and contains emerging insights into the new ACA RADV program otherwise unavailable. The panel’s agenda will include:1. A succinct overview of the ACA RADV Program will be provided2. Summary of a national 2016 ACA RADV pilot study results and its findings. 3. Preliminary results from a national 2017 RADV study will be discussed (or CMS published results if available prior to session). 4. Walkthrough of how RADV results impact the overall risk adjustment transfers in the ACA market. 5. Finally, the panel will discuss RADV impact to issuer’s financial accruals and pricing strategy. 6. General Q&A, discussion"

Description: This session is targeted for new ASAs/FSAs or actuaries who are new to reserving. The session will be delivered in two parts. The first part is intended to deliver a basic understanding of IBNR reserving and different reserving methods and assumptions. We will go through examples of constructing claims triangles and developing completion factors, while exploring concepts such as seasonality, trend and outlier claims. During the second part of the session, we will apply the material from the first part to look at various example from different products such as inpatient, outpatient, RX, Medicare Supplement, dental, critical illness, etc.