Description: Summary of results of a 2010 Health Section survey of actuaries and Medicare population, on ways to bend the cost trend curve downward. Issues included transparency, quality measures, fraud and abuse, provider payment, malpractice, medical errors, consumer education, and the pros and cons of employer-sponsored coverage.

Description: This article discusses new opportunities for states to waive certain marketplace requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The article focuses on specific opportunities for states and the role that actuaries will play.

Description: The NAIC Innovation work group has set out 10 ideas for improving the LTC insurance market. This article discusses and critiques those ideas.

Description: The Tidbit summarizes LTRs 201609008 and 201613016 and discusses the definition of insurance under the tax code in light of these new pieces of guidance from the IRS.

Description: Discussion of the impact of the ACA on RBS and required surplus for a health plan

Description: A proposal to address provider payment issues by gradually moving to accountable care organizations. Capitations would be risk-adjusted, non-capitated costs would be covered by hospitalization fund and stoploss, incentives for quality & effective preventive care would be tied to the amount remaining in the fund, and government involvement would be through incentives rather than mandate.

Description: A summary of pathology, risk factors, treatments, public health issues, and economic costs of Alzheimer's Disease.

Description: The medical scheme approach adopted by several African countries has failed to meet the needs of those in informal employment and rural communities. This is partly due to affordability amongst these individuals as well as a lack of awareness of how healthcare financing products work. Community based healthcare organisations have achieved greater levels of success in this regard by carefully incorporating the peculiarities of communities in benefit design and involving community members in the management of these healthcare solutions. There are lessons to be garnered from the countries where these have been implemented with some level of success. Even as countries aim towards universal health coverage, observing the unique needs of different communities within a country is essential to ensure resources are utilised efficiently and that healthcare needs are targeted effectively.

Description: This article contains excerpts from the first three articles that were released through the strategic initiative - Commercial Health Care: What’s Next?

Description: Overview of Medicare's 1979 financial projections under optimistic, pessimistic, and intermediate assumptions, for the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance programs.