Description: Explore a general overview of the Medicare Advantage VBID hospice model, including program goal and a brief review of available information on plan participation in 2021 and 2022. Join us to learn how the program can support other elements related to health equity and address social determinants of health. You will be able to focus on how to improve quality of life and care using palliative, concurrent and/or transitional care and hospice services. Elevate your understanding with a summary of publicly available hospice experience data published by CMS, as well as a review of published research by the SOA and others related to hospice and end of life care. Finally, expect technical guidance regarding VBID model financial implications and proposed enhancements to the program as CMS transitions from the current model due to expire at end of 2024.

Description: SARS-CoV2 will impact our post-pandemic future. Morbidity more than mortality will impact the life and health business in the mid-term. But how does this temporary disruption in health care elicit long-tail implications on other common diseases and changes in lifestyles? Find out how mid-term pricing could be affected using one case scenario and also show how mental health will particularly shape the post-pandemic future (individually and societal), not only due to long COVID. Review the experience of the insured policies and discuss future ideas for COVID-19 research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute. Consider recent causes of death studies, as well as reported claims analyses to help expedite the analysis of recent experience. Join us where experts from both the medical and actuarial disciplines join forces to discuss this important topic.

Description: Many actuaries were grown and developed in cube-land - with many peers being just a few feet away to help develop core actuarial skills. Today, most experts agree that we will never fully return from a hybrid world, which means that our actuarial business skills and communication styles need to evolve as well to maintain relevancy in this evolving world. Many actuarial companies are more formally recognizing the importance of connection among staff to create robust systems for cultivating a strong department culture in an increasingly fractured landscape. Join us to discover more about how a connected department creates space to share resources and knowledge more freely, which is a benefit to both staff's personal development as well as the department performance as a whole.

Description: The session will start by looking at emerging trends in US population mortality improvement focusing especially on recent deviations from the traditional norms influenced by factors such as the prescription drug epidemic, aging populations, improvements in medical technology and socioeconomic differentiation. Explore the recently developed SOA Research Institute tool looking at US life insured mortality experience to see to what extent insights from the population view are present in insured mortality and how to make the best use of the tool. The session will conclude with observations on key points to keep in mind in your own understanding of mortality improvement development as well as engage the audience to gather your perspective.

Description: As artificial intelligence reshapes the actuarial landscape, this panel will explore the critical aspects of change management necessary for the successful integration of AI technologies. We will discuss how to effectively embrace AI in the workplace and address common challenges and resistance to change. Join us for an engaging discussion on navigating this transformative journey and empowering actuaries to harness the full potential of AI in their work.

Description: Many companies are facing challenges with their inforce UL business. These “distressed” or non-core blocks of business can be a drag on earnings, return on capital, and/or internal resources. With the pressures of today's marketplace, companies are seeking efficient strategies for managing these blocks. The good news is that strategies exist such that inforce UL business can be optimized with some attention. Learn about some options and levers companies have available to help manage these blocks.

Description: This session will give an update on the latest in SOA Health Research. The session will also provide an overview of the health research process with additional information on upcoming SOA volunteer opportunities in Health Research. There will be a presentation on one or more SOA Health Research Projects recently published or soon to be published.

Description: Patients with chronic conditions such as musculoskeletal pain, diabetes, and hypertension impact 50% of the US healthcare population, consume more than 85% of healthcare costs, and often require a higher volume of care, expensive imaging, testing, and emergency procedures, and long-term high-cost drugs. Managing these conditions through innovative digital health interventions provides a significant opportunity for higher-touch and more-effective management that will result in lower costs.

Description: We will first present a few very practical use cases of GenAI tools that could help the daily life of an actuary. Then we will demonstrate the power of these tools in coding (e.g. Cursor, but also ChatGPT) - improv style. Taking a suggestion from the audience - a publicly available dataset - we will demonstrate how you can ask questions to a large language model, which will write code and provide the insight you are looking for.

Description: This session will review the latest developments in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, including a discussion of hot topics, challenges, and opportunities on the horizon. Specific topics will include cost-sharing reductions (CSR) loading and the impact on subsidized rates across states (e.g., mandated loading in NM), the interaction of American Rescue Plan (ARP) subsidy expansion, and the impact once ARP-enhanced subsidies end.