Description: With IFRS 17 effective this year, come learn about the performance management capabilities provided by IFRS 17 with traditional analysis under IFRS4, and with LDTI under USGAAP. You will begin with an introduction to the IFRS 17 landscape post implementation, followed by a comparison of profit measurement and earning analysis key performance indicators (KPIs) pre- and post-IFRS 17, and ends with an exploration of the common philosophy of earning recognition between LDTI and IFRS 17 beyond the calculation differences.

Description: The introduction and effective application of US GAAP LDTI have increased the scrutiny of those reviewing the updated financial results. That is because LDTI has resulted in significant changes in actuarial reserving and deferred acquisition cost (DAC) models for long-duration contracts, including significant changes to data, assumptions and required disclosures. In light of the changes, greater reliance has been put on companies’ model risk management (MRM) teams and model validations to assess the conceptual soundness and accuracy of their companies’ actuarial models and to assess that the underlying data and process utilized are suitable and appropriate. This article covers a brief background on model validation, walk through a sample LDTI-focused model validation framework/test plan, then provide insights on common LDTI-related validation observations based on the authors' prior validation experience.

Description: Health equity is taking a front row focus in many health arenas. Take a closer look at some of the efforts being used to ensure health equity. One area of interest to actuaries is value-based insurance designs (VBID). VBID can be incorporated into exchange plans. These innovations to prevent and treat disease have led to reductions in morbidity and mortality. Learn techniques to improve the quality of care and reduce barriers to high-value care in the form of high-cost sharing.

Description: With the mandated health plan transparency files, health plans and providers are now able to substantially enhance their provider contracting efforts. Although the files are large and cumbersome they are market disruptors and provide new insights for provider contracting efforts. Explore a demonstration on the type of information now available and how it can be used to enhance this from both a health plan and health care provider perspective.

Description: "Through both informed policy debate and opinionated social media, there are many current event health topics actively discussed and debated. The question remains... how does one separate out subjective information, seek objective analysis, and at the same time consider where there might be more research needed to come to conclusions? This session will use several current event topicsas examples and discover insights as to where research has been performed, what it may or may not cover, and also note where lines are still blurred and may need further details to be studied. Topics that may be discussed include: How valuable and exact is the use of risk-adjustment for Medicare Advantage What is the health and mortality impact of receiving COVID-19 vaccinations"

Description: Actuaries historically modeled new launches in pharmaceuticals by anticipating the expected change to the market basket. This became more complicated with the recent launches of gene and cell therapies as they address rare diseases. Rare conditions have low total member volume to study and some do not currently have a diagnosis code to identify them within claims data. Addressing this modeling challenge has been growing more important in the recent years with the number of therapies launching. What has the health care industry, and more specifically health care, done to enhance modeling and how should this be altered for the future? Additionally, historic modeling has sometimes incorporated a level of direct medical treatment cost offsets where studies have shown lower treatment costs are achievable. Can gene and cell financial modeling include cost offsets as well? And if so, what are suggested precautions or limitations to this effort?

Description: This article summarizes the second Simon Conference for young researchers in Actuarial Science, Risk Management, and Insurance, which took place at Michigan State University last November. The intent is to publicize the event and promote future participation in similar conferences of young researchers. The article will contribute to expanding the horizons of actuarial research performed by the academic community. Participation in the conference also gives professional development opportunity for practicing actuaries.

Description: The article provides an overview of the federal tax treatment of long-term care insurance contracts, including a brief history of the tax treatment of long-term care insurance, the requirements that must be satisfied in order to be treated as qualified long-term care insurance under the Internal Revenue Code, and a brief discussion of qualified long-term care combination products and chronic and terminal illness accelerated death benefits offered under life insurance contracts.

Description: Milliman was engaged by the SOA to conduct two Accelerated Underwriting (AU) surveys, one of direct companies and another of reinsurers. The surveys explored actual results from 2019–2021 and expected results from 2022.

Description: The article introduces a cashflow matching strategic asset allocation (SAA) framework for life insurers. Given the recent shift to higher interest rates after two decades of persistent low interest rates, insurers have an opportunity to enhance their asset liability management by rebalancing asset portfolios to narrow duration gaps and attain higher risk-adjusted yields. The framework aims to align investment objectives with economic, regulatory, and rating agency requirements. It prioritizes cashflow matching as the primary optimization goal and incorporates security-level asset information to assist portfolio managers in executing SAA seamlessly. The article highlights the benefits of the cashflow matching SAA framework, including greater attention to cashflow matching, unbiased results, readily executable strategies, and stable economic reserves. A case study is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework in improving risk-adjusted return and cashflow matching for a representative liability block.