Description: Influenza overview (virus types, health impacts, vaccination process/efficacy) and how actuaries can incorporate basic flu knowledge into their work.

Description: This article examines two general approaches to pricing The Forecast Approach and the Rebuilding Approach. The author then supplies the reader with the best approach. From Health Watch Newsletter, March 2005, Issue No. 49.

Description: Summary of the health section council’s research project to assess the accuracy of commonly used IBNR estimation methods over a wide range of scenarios.

Description: An excerpt from a presentation at the 2014 Living to 100 Symposium, this article describes an open-source model for use by actuaries attempting to estimate future health benefit costs, discusses its strengths and limitations, and projects that spending for those age over 65 will take more than $13 trillion by 2055, about 50 percent of total medical expenditures.

Description: Outline of changes to the Adjust Community Rate ACR Proposal process and Beneficary Information Form, Issue No. 38

Description: Adding aggregating specific provisions to individual stop loss contracts reduces premium outlay but often priced incorectly by insurers. Includes lasering concept. Issue No. 46.

Description: The Behavioral Finance subgroup of the Health Section will be publishing a series of literature reviews in Health Watch. This is the first review of three in the series. The reviewed article describes an attempt to place an econometric value on consumers’ preferences between broad and narrow networks.

Description: Calculation of IBNR Reserves compares IBNP lag method to Incurred Claims PMPM method which produces lower Variance. Issue No. 46.

Description: Health Section News, August 2005, Issue 50 which discusses the effective management of prescription drug utilization and coverage that continue to represent one of the biggest challenges facing insurers, managed care organizations, employers and consumers alike.

Description: Discussion of Medicare's Ambulatory Payment Classification APC system as the standard for reimbursement of non-capitated outpatient hospital services with sample calculations. Issue No. 37.