Description: Chapter 2 reviews previous research in the area of health risk assessment. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: This is an abstract for the paper, Analysis of Costs for a Chronic Disease with Acute High Cost Episodes by Marjorie Rosenberg and Philip Farrell.

Description: Exploration of sources of volatility in retiree health valuations, noting how volatility arises and might be mitigated, with discussion of valuation parameters more problematic for retiree health benefits than for pensions. Three significant influences on retiree health valuation volatility are covered-- changes in benefit level, fluctuations in cost level, and alterations in eligibility for, or duration of, benefit – and attention focused on the last two. Specific conclusions result in recommendations, which are supported by practical examples contrasting volatile measurement results with those likely from the recommended practices. Theoretical discussion includes health claim variation, health trend usage, financial economics, option pricing, discount rates, and deterministic vs. stochastic modeling.

Description: Chapter 6 identifies four general and practical considerations in comparing methods: practicality and administrative cost, ability to restrict manipulation, timeliness and predictability, and incentives for efficiency and quality care. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: Introduction sets out the objectives of comparing the predictive accuracy of different risk assessment methods, comparing the different methods based on other criteria, and then examining issues related to high-cost individuals and conditions. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: Chapter 8 suggests possible areas for further research such as other data groupings, high risk pooling, how diagnosis-based risk assessment might be improved, study of an expanded list of high-cost diagnoses, and comparisons to diagnoses from earlier time periods. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: This SOA-funded study examines the relative performance of different risk assessment methods and risk adjustment systems. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: List of Tables. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: List of Figures. From A Comparative Analysis of Methods of Health Risk Assessment, M-HB96-1.

Description: This paper presents recent trends in obesity prevalence in significant population segments, including overall effects by age, gender and certain racial and ethnic groups, and discusses the ways in which obesity can influence mortality in each of these segments. It provides a synthesis of reported mortality experience relating to these behaviors by risk factors and diseases that will affect any mortality projection.