Description: This is an introduction to the SOA call for essays around risk strategies pertaining to the diverse risks found in retirement. We are pleased that these essays can be included in this issue of Pension Section News, along with a short interview with each author.

Description: This article describes employer considerations when evaluating Private Exchanges and potential financial impacts of a multi-carrier, fully-insured model

Description: This paper explores how health care complexity challenges us to expand our repertoire of actuarial methods—and even recast our trend driver paradigm—in order to do our jobs better and maintain our credibility.

Description: Letter from the Editor Greetings to All Health Actuaries! by Jeffrey D. Miller from Health Section News, April 2001, Issue No. 40.

Description: Discussion of the standards set by ASOP 23 on data quality within a health insurance context.

Description: Discussion of methods to estimate unpaid claim liability UCL for health plans. Includes traditional IBNR lag method and a lag method based on claims reported but not paid RBNP. Issue No. 45

Description: In this paper we propose a model that can be used to analyze correlated claims data. In the process we introduce a class of multivariate generalized Poisson distributions. Then we present posterior distributions of its parameters. These distributions are difficult to manipulate, so we employ Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to draw random numbers from posteriors and predictive distributions. We present a collection of EXCEL VBA functions and subroutines to perform the simulations.

Description: There are growing concerns that the Asian bird flu virus will evolve into a form that can be transmitted from human to human, thus unleashing a new global flu pandemic. This article uses the Spanish flu epidemic and the German life insurance portfolio to analyze the additional claims expenditure due to a pandemic.

Description: The coming wave of biosimilars could dramatically affect prescription drug costs and benefit strategies over the next several years. The launch of many Humira biosimilars in 2023 is the Big Event that will largely determine the impact of the biosimilar wave. Payers have many decisions to make about coverage and formulary tiers. What factors will drive payer decision-making?

Description: A look back at 2024, reviewing and highlighting the things that the SOA Health Section Council accomplished, including education, research, webcasts, networking, and a new Health Section Council action plan that will be used on an ongoing basis to target, track, and measure areas of focus for the council, to better serve membership.