Description: A dicussion of the Rate Classification Actuarial Standard of Practice, ASOP #12: its purpose, its scope, guidance, and examples.

Description: Paying for Independent Providers (IPs) has been a significant development in the evolution of long-term care insurance (LTCI) as a product. A discussion about IP policy benefits and how they constitute a “must have” for LTCI policy sales for competitive reasons.

Description: A discussion about the future of long-term care insurance, potential growth of sales, and career influences.

Description: A discussion about how companies should monitor their LTC experience. What does the future hold? What metrics should they review and how frequently. These and other related topics are covered.

Description: This article discusses how medicine is now inextricably linked with genomics, and within the clinical community the call is out for frontline physicians to become familiar with genetic science.

Description: The Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen MCAS is a brief cognitive screen that has been validated to correctly identify mild to moderate cognitive impairment in 98.1 percent of all cases. The MCAS has been in use in the LTCI industry for more than five years, and has shown excellent results in reducing early cognitive claims.

Description: Discussion of rate differences by family tier and risk class for LTC and Medicare Supplement plans, and to what extent these differences are fair, ethical, legal, or actuarially sound.

Description: A discussion of fraud and abuse in the Medicare payment system, and steps to address these problems.

Description: Remarks on the pricing of joint LTC policies illustrate the need for an actuary's responsibility to the law, and to best practices, to take precendence over serving sales, marketing and underwriting objectives.