Description: Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a newer model of primary care delivery in which patients or employers pay for care directly on a membership basis; insurance and other third-party payment is not used. Early studies show significantly improved patient health outcomes and lower expenditures for DPC patients compared with similar patients receiving traditionally delivered primary care. Additional research is needed to better understand physician perspectives about the model and the role of patient selection in early results.In this session we discuss research projects that may shed light on the DPC model and on whether early results indicate more about the model or about the patients who use it.We discuss an SoA research project that interviews DPC physicians to better understand their views about the model and its early results. We also discuss a paper that analyzes characteristics of patients who receive primary care from a DPC physician and compares them to characteristics of patients who receive primary care in more traditional ways. This cross-sectional study surveys all adult patients of a convenience sample of several DPC practices. Variables include demographics, socio-economic status (SES), type of additional coverage (if any), whether DPC fees are paid by an employer, and self-reported health status. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is the main source of comparison data. For a given cohort of demographics and additional coverage, we determine whether DPC patients have similar health status, demographics and SES as non-DPC patients. This study will provide insight into the degree of selection into DPC by observable patient characteristics.

Description: This presentation is a panel discussion from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. Panelists share recent success stories and emerging opportunities using direct marketing techniques to profitably grow business. They discuss developing market-driven databases, applying the integrated marketing concept, marketing with individual specific consumer information, development of new market niches, and customized product offer design. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4B.

Description: Presented at June 1986 Spring Meeting. This session discussion is about the expenses in direct-response marketing, advertising compliance, risk selection techniques - unfair discrimination, agent supported regulation, use of telephone solicitors and direct response product design.

Description: 1992 SOA Regional Meeting, Chicago. This discussion is about direct marketing growth in the 1980s, sustaining the growth in the 1990s, regulatory constraints in the 1990s, impact of continuing production cost increases, new product designs, and declining response rate.

Description: Discusses the current trends in international marketing, separately for Europe and Asia, and the product-pricing and international-reinsurance considerations. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 4B.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 2001 Toronto Spring Meeting discuss incorporating reinsurance costs into the pricing of their retail products. Panelists also discuss the different effects of various reinsurance arrangements.

Description: Presented at October 1985 Annual Meeting. This session discussion is about marketing opportunities, marketing techniques, product selection and design.

Description: From a panel discussion session at the Spring regional meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Atlanta, Georgia, May 24-25, 1999 Panelists discuss two of the measurements actuaries are using to evaluate direct response products: customer lifetime value and embedded values.

Description: Presented at October 2000 Annual Meeting. Panelists discuss the primary risks of long-term-care insurance, reasons for reinsurance utilization, the variable forms of long-term-care reinsurance in today's market, and other forms of risk management.

Description: This session discussion is about the new niches in direct response marketing such as new products, database marketing and relationship marketing. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 2.