Description: On May 16th, the Social Security Boards of Trustees sent to the Congress the three annual reports OASDI, HI, and SMI. These reports present cost projections similar to those provided to the Congress last year at the time of enactment of the 1977 Amendments.

Description: This study was sponsored by the Society of Actuaries Health Section. This paper explores the relative significance of aging as a determinant of financial cost of health care beyond age 50, with particular attention to the effect for ages 65 and older. The paper presents concepts of aging factors and aging curves, which define relative values between ages for utilization or cost of health care services. General conclusions are drawn from Medicare data that utilization and cost differ by age, but that aging factors vary across services and may be less significant at very old ages. The author then turns to the question of measuring the significance of an aging curve assumption and what accuracy is lost in the simpler alternative of a single value across an age range.

Description: This session discussion is about outside actuarial profession's perspective on health care cost, insurer's role in medical care management, relationships between treatment decisions, available coverage, appropriate use of underwriting and paying for uncompensated care. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 18, No. 1A.

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

Description: Summary of results of a 2010 Health Section survey of actuaries and Medicare population, on ways to bend the cost trend curve downward. Issues included transparency, quality measures, fraud and abuse, provider payment, malpractice, medical errors, consumer education, and the pros and cons of employer-sponsored coverage.

Description: This article is based on a third party administrator study and explores the relationships between family structure, spare capacity and health care utilization.

Description: This article discusses new opportunities for states to waive certain marketplace requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The article focuses on specific opportunities for states and the role that actuaries will play.

Description: The article gives actuaries an introduction to Academy Health, the notable health policy research organization.

Description: This article discusses HIPAA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1997 and the many NAIC model laws affecting health insurance and paricularly how Arkansas is facing the post-HIPAA complexities.

Description: Interviews with several actuaries who are subject matter experts in the health field to get their perspectives on implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).