Description: This articles describes how actuaries can contribute to the understanding of the financing of Medicare and the urgency of its problems.

Description: The editorial illustrates public finance issues, focusing on the themes of Social Security and Medicare Advantage plans that are highlighted in this issue.

Description: The article explores ways that legislative policy options that focus on both trust fund solvency and benefit adequacy may be implemented to bring about Social Security solvency and sustainability.

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

Description: The SOA’s recent work related to public policy research and an update on the General Insurance track.

Description: Summary of testimony by an AAA Board member before a congressional subcommittee, as an expert on risk assessment and adjustment, especially in relation to Medicare risk contracting and HMO payments. She recommended: mitigating the geographical region values, credibility weights for payments to health plans, carving out high cost claim segments, reengineering the ACR methodology, shifting AAPCC methodology from fee-for-service toward competitive bidding, and further projects to improve risk methods.

Description: Social Security poses a substantial financing challenge for the future, largely due to demographic changes. This article explores the reasons behind this issue and possible changes that will be needed in the future.

Description: The letter from the president details recent developments and plans to increase the Society of Actuaries’ role in the arena of public policy research.

Description: An interview with Jennifer Gillespie, chairperson of SOA Public Policy Strategy Task Force.