Description: PBMs are positioned in the healthcare delivery system as the only entity that is not regulated for profitability. The Commercial Fully Insured Health Insurance Plans are heavily regulated by the State Insurance Commissioner who allows only 2%-3% profit margin. The self-funded Health Plans are regulated by ERISA fiduciary responsibility that prohibits excessive compensation. PBMs are classed as a service provider and are not regulated by either. This allows PBMs to implement large, unreasonable mark ups for profit. PBMs are massive commercial entities, states are trying to sue under antitrust law. PBMs found a sweet spot in the regulation. Large Insurance Carries understood that and either acquired large PBMs or merged with them. It is likely that a combination of measures will be needed to regulate PBMs. The most direct approach would be for Congress to pass a law establishing PBM as a fiduciary under ERISA just like an “investment advisor” providing advice for a fee. Establishing PBM as a fiduciary will help Courts and other Federal Agencies ensure that PBMs do not unfairly retain rebates and inflate the prices of Rx drugs sold to employer health plans, and the US population in general.

Description: Discussion of recent developments in the taxation of noncoordinated benefits such as fixed indemnity, hospital indemnity, and specified disease insurance policies. Developments include a recent Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum and proposed triagency rulemaking that would impact non coordinated benefits.

Description: The momentum in value-based care has produced an opportunity for actuaries to become pioneers in health care

Description: Discussion of issues from The Credibility Task Force for Health Coverage. From Health Section News, June 1998, Issue No. 35.

Description: Considerations in the Development of Area Factors, Issue No. 38.

Description: Recap on the annual meeting, and in particular the sessions sponsored by the health section.

Description: In the evolving realm of healthcare actuarial practice, value-based contracts are reshaping the landscape. This article explores the pivotal role of AI-enhanced Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) in empowering actuaries to navigate this dynamic sector. Despite challenges in data standardization, AI-enhanced EMRs offer a solution by extracting and standardizing diverse medical records. The article delineates how AI-EMR integration benefits actuaries and provider organizations, enabling more accurate forecasting, earlier shared savings prepayments, and real-time quality metric aggregation. Moreover, it discusses how this fusion addresses historical data limitations, can help project catastrophic claims, and can help identify risk score capture opportunities. Ultimately, it indicates the transformative potential of AI-EMR synergy, positioning actuaries at the forefront of healthcare analytics with unprecedented precision and insight.

Description: Synopsis of Issue Brief prepared by Tax Work Group of the Academy-LTD Claim Reserve Assumption Basis: Use of date of incurral/date of issue of original policy.

Description: In April 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a revised definition of primarily health related (PHR) benefits as applicable to Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations.