Description: This is an article that highlights recommended reading by the Health Practice area communications committee. The readings cover a broad subject matter from risk assessment, medical technology to uninsured.

Description: The Society of Actuaries (SOA) published its first COVID-19 research brief on March 10, 2020, followed by regular updates and expansions through June 12, 2020. The comprehensive report included a section of statistics that highlight the pandemic’s impact on economies in the U.S. and Canada. This report shows updates through September 30, 2020, to selected graphs from the Economic and Asset Impact section of the comprehensive report.

Description: The purpose of this analysis is to provide a practical set of changes to the incidence rate modifiers of the 2013 Individual Disability Income Valuation Table to reflect recent industry individual disability income (IDI) claim experience trends from 2005 through 2015. The goal is to have resulting 2005-2015 experience-based incidence modifiers in a workable format to facilitate its use.

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: Enjoy an in-depth walkthrough of the facets of the lab testing world in this webcast. The agenda will include a discussion on genetic testing, which focuses on its general background, current trends and tests in the pipeline, as well as a focus on the approaches to achieve savings in lab testing. Finally, expect to check out sample actuarial analyses that will be used to identify areas of focus in lab management. Join us and take a deeper look into lab work in the actuarial health industry.

Description: Many states have recently introduced mandatory paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs, which require employers to provide PFML benefits to their employees. This session explores recent trends in PFML programs, including plan design, pricing, employee perception, employer challenges, and current activity in various states.

Description: In this video Mitchell Momanyi, FSA MAAA presents an informative breakdown of Medicare Advantage plans, delving into the intricacies of this alternative to traditional Medicare. Covering the inception of Medicare Advantage and its evolution, Momanyi explores the managed care companies offering Part C coverage, emphasizing the role of provider networks coordinated care. Concluding with key considerations for beneficiaries, Momanyi stresses the importance of weighing the pros and cons between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, while also emphasizing the evolving nature of the Medicare landscape and the regulatory nuances influencing enrollment decisions. Conributors: Mitchell Momanyi, FSA, MAAA, Deana Bell FSA, MAAA, Matt Emery, FSA, CERA, MAAA, Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA

Description: Cover a variety of topics centered around the unsupervised learning technique called 'clustering'. The presenters will take you through a wide array of topics that range from 'What is Clustering?' to 'How can I use this technique to solve problems I didn't even know existed?' In the health care industry, everyone is looking for an edge in reducing total spend-cluster analysis finds the unambiguous in an ambiguous framework of results.

Description: Hear about the new hope biosimilars bring in helping payers and patients manage the rapidly growing pharmacy spend. The Big Event, encompassing multiple Humira biosimilars, launches in 2023 and could set the tone for how much biosimilars can be expected to contribute to solving our pharmacy spend challenges. What will be the financial impact of the Big Event and this coming wave? What can be done to maximize adoption of biosimilars? What strategies are available to maximize savings for payers and patients?

Description: High inflation rates can affect disability insurance in a variety of ways. Learn about rising price and wage inflation trends and why they are of interest to disability insurers. You will also hear presenters address topics such as recessionary pressures, the eroding value of benefits, wage growth, top-line trends and expense pressures. By attending the session, you will gain insight into how inflation should be considered in pricing, reserving and financial modeling.