Description: In summer 2021, the SOA Research Institute’s Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program sponsored a webcast examining individual life and group life emerging mortality in a COVID-19 world. Since then, Delta and Omicron coronavirus variants have fueled waves of the virus in the U.S., boosting the total number of COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to near the 1 million mark. Hear an update and insights into how the life insured population is faring during COVID-19 by discussing the findings from two recent SOA Research Institute initiatives. LIMRA, Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and TAI have collaborated to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the individual life insurance industry’s mortality experience. Additionally, the SOA Research Institute has surveyed insurers to gather a high-level view of U.S. Group Term Life Insurance mortality results during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing them to pre-pandemic mortality levels. The Group Term Life industry mortality results will be presented with monthly data through March 2022.

Description: The presenters in this session will highlight the SOA’s work on an updated Medicaid underwriting margin model. This research project includes the model along with a set of instructions and a paper describing the key components of underwriting margin, including cost of capital and risk margin. The model was created as a tool for Medicaid actuaries representing both MCO and State principals to determine appropriate underwriting margins components within Medicaid managed care rates. Understand a brief description of the motivation for and underlying theory behind the model. Walk through different model inputs and run through some realistic scenarios that Medicaid actuaries may encounter in where they operate. By attending this session you will be able to: • Understand the role that Medicaid underwriting margin plays in Medicaid rate setting. • Understand the key components of Medicaid underwriting margin. • Understand the factors that necessitate underwriting margins. • Understand how to incorporate appropriate Medicaid underwriting margin levels in Medicaid rate setting.

Description: Increasingly, actuaries need to collaborate and partner with clinicians in order to be successful in value-based care and population health initiatives. Gaining credibility with professionals from different backgrounds, training and sometimes different objectives can be a challenge. Gain perspectives from actuaries and clinicians to discuss how to collaborate and achieve stronger results and outcomes. By attending this session, you will be able to: • Identify common scenarios where actuaries and clinicians need to collaborate. • Understand perspectives on how to partner and communicate with clinicians. • Describe successful strategies that take into account improvement of financial and clinical outcomes. • Understand how actuaries can provide valuable data to drive results and demonstrate outcomes.

Description: "Technical and analytical skills have been the main driver in the professional success you have had thus far. As you continue to advance your actuarial career, the work you do will become more complex, specialized, and likely, more important. Being able to tell a story about a project will help ensure you understand the analysis on a deeper level, will assist in more efficient communication, and will support understanding for varying levels of expertise. At the conclusion of the session, you’ll be able to: Understand the importance of visual storytelling. Identify what story you are telling given the stage of a project. Know how to tailor communication based on the audience."

Description: Join us to explore a variety of ways that COVID-19 has impacted retirement and how those impacts may extend into the future. Material from a series of research reports published through the SOA's Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program will be presented as well as other relevant work. This content was originally presented at the 2021 SOA ImpACT Conference.

Description: Electronic health records continue to evolve and gain traction in the life insurance industry. But what exactly are EHRs and what are the impacts for actuaries? How they are being used today and what are the benefits and challenges of implementing EHRs in life insurance underwriting?

Description: Award-winning keynote speaker Rachel Sheerin will discuss burnout, harnessing her signature blend of positive energy and authentic engagement. With her viral TEDx Talk on burnout, Rachel delivers audiences from fatigued to FIRED UP with truth and humor.

Description: Familiarize yourself with Precision Medicine Diagnostics and Prescription Digital Therapeutics. The innovation in these markets has the potential to improve clinical outcomes across a range of mental health and physical conditions. Market growth will be associated with potentially important PMPM cost impacts as utilization increases and benefit designs evolve. Experience with existing and new technologies will enable a better understanding of possible financial efficiencies related to their use. One category of Precision Medicine Diagnostics includes genetic diagnostics, which are analyses of DNA and genetic material. The resulting genetic insights are to predict disease or enhance response to treatment. The U.S. market is expected to grow from about $5 billion to approximately $8 billion in 2025. Prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) are software-based interventions intended to prevent, manage or treat disease. PDTs are prescribed by physicians alongside prescription drugs, supported by clinical data, and regulated by the Food & Drug Administration. PDTs enable collection of real-world data for use by prescribing clinicians and other health care stakeholders. To date, the FDA has authorized just nine PDTs, but the annual global growth is expected to grow from about 19 percent to 26 percent, resulting in an estimated $10 billion market in 2025. After the session, you will be able to describe how the two markets are defined and articulate the current and projected market sizes. You will also be encouraged to increase attention to the forecasting challenges that these developing areas pose and incorporate respective considerations into financial modeling.

Description: Learn the roles and responsibilities of a valuation actuary to help health actuaries learn best practices, technical considerations, and professionalism issues surrounding the calculation and reporting of health liabilities and reserves. Focus on key actuarial liability and reserve provisions, including Claims Unpaid and Premium Deficiency Reserves. Explore new ideas about calculation methods and the importance of the underlying assumptions. Examples will be provided to present best practices and practical applications concerning reserve calculation. A discussion of best practices regarding the preparation of an actuarial memorandum supporting a Health Annual Statement will be included to focus on key considerations from the American Academy of Actuaries’ Practice Note about documenting and supporting the actuarial calculations. The discussion will feature views and considerations from both the insurer’s and the regulator’s perspectives. By attending this session, you will be able to: • Understand the roles and responsibilities of the appointed actuary. • Identify what’s in scope for the actuarial opinion. • Understand actuarial qualification requirements. • Learn the statutory rules for establishing key actuarial liability provisions. • Understand the general purpose of financial reporting. • Understand best practices with reserve calculations and resources available, including relevant practice notes and Actuarial Standards of Practice. • Understand the sufficient documentation needed to support valuation work. • Understand the critical elements sought by regulators, auditors and other users of an actuarial memorandum.

Description: Health care has changed rapidly over the past couple of years. The pandemic has shifted consumer behavior in how and where they receive health care as well as consumer attitudes toward health care. Payers continue to design innovative solutions in responses to their patient’s needs and expectations. These changes in consumer behaviors and the responses by payers are expected to impact both health care cost and utilization. Discuss changes in health care that have emerged due to the pandemic and how they are expected to influence actuarial assumptions. Explore epidemiological models commonly used in the industry, the considerations when using these models, as well as the challenges with regards to gathering and interpreting relevant experience data. By attending this session, you will be able to: Identify shifts in consumer behavior that have emerged from the pandemic and describe how payers are responding to new patient expectations. Discuss how these post-pandemic changes by consumers and payers influence medical spending. Determine which actuarial assumptions are impacted and how and if the impact is expected to be temporary or permanent. Discuss considerations taken by actuaries and challenges faced when modelling actuarial assumptions post pandemic.