Description: The article gives actuaries an introduction to Academy Health, the notable health policy research organization.

Description: This study was sponsored by the Society of Actuaries Health Section. This paper explores the relative significance of aging as a determinant of financial cost of health care beyond age 50, with particular attention to the effect for ages 65 and older. The paper presents concepts of aging factors and aging curves, which define relative values between ages for utilization or cost of health care services. General conclusions are drawn from Medicare data that utilization and cost differ by age, but that aging factors vary across services and may be less significant at very old ages. The author then turns to the question of measuring the significance of an aging curve assumption and what accuracy is lost in the simpler alternative of a single value across an age range.

Description: This session discusses affordable health care including cost drivers, trends, the uninsured, federal funding and state initiatives. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 29, No. 2, Session 109

Description: This session will discuss the role of actuaries under national health insurance, role of the Canadian health actuaries under that national program and how actuaries can shape the health-care environment in the U.S.. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 18, No. 4B.

Description: This presentation is an open forum from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held June 3-5 in Colorado Springs. The panelists debate on who should pay for medical care for the uninsured, and how it should be financed. The debaters represent advocates of private, voluntary, and cooperative private state solutions and state or government intervention to finance health care for the uninsured. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 3B.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Vancouver Meeting discusses and debates the merits and implications of community rating and guaranteed issue state requirements. State examples are discussed. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 3a.

Description: Part 1 of a 2-part series exploring implementation issues for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 MHPAEA. Part 2 addresses the new enforcement safe harbor, how the regulations could impact the business of behavioral health care and the impending decisions for payors, employers, providers, and insureds.

Description: Presented at the Living to 100 Symposium, January 2011. In India, the prevalence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases has been increasing tremendously. This spurt of diseases and the resultant morbidity is severely affecting the quality of life of the elderly. The problem is compounded by a medical and health care infrastructure which is inadequate to meet the challenge. This paper analyzes and estimates, using actuarial tools, the effect on the economy with particular focus on the present and future elderly segment of the population, identifies opportunities for insurers to address the situation, and suggests remedial measures to deal with the situation. Medico-actuarial studies in this area will also be covered.

Description: In this discussion, experts in specific areas reported on recent and current happenings in their field. These include HMOs and manged care, Congressional legislation initiatives, disability insurance and mergers and acquisitions within the health providers/insurers. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 22, No. 2.

Description: Report on the activities of the Academy’s health practice council and its work groups.