Description: This report has been written to provide a primer on the measurement known as R0 (pronounced “R-naught”), which is commonly used in epidemiology. The R0 metric has received extensive press coverage since the outbreak due to its importance in the measurement of the spread of COVID-19.

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 includes a section of Key Statistics. On July 24, 2020, the SOA released a report showing updates through July 22 to selected graphs from or related to the Key Statistics section of the comprehensive report. This report provides similar updates through August 9, 2020.

Description: This study estimates the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and reported deaths by hospital referral regions (HRR) using Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 data by U.S. county and the Dartmouth Atlas Project division of counties into HRRs.

Description: This report summarizes thoughts and questions about the impact of COVID-19 on working in retirement, phased retirement and how the definition and timing of retirement may change. It provides a synthesis of the expert input mentioned above and offers background on related research results. It also describes other issues for further consideration. T

Description: Electronic Health Records, or EHRs, are a major worldwide initiative to eliminate paper recordings – including Attending Physician Statements (APSs) – of an individual’s medical history and current treatment.

Description: The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) recently released their annual health care cost and utilization report on February 13, 2020. This report illustrates employer group commercial health care costs and trends from 2014 – 2018.

Description: This paper helps the audience understand the actuary’s role in estimating the financial impact of primary care programs. In addition, the paper can be used by actuaries to think about key issues when estimating the financial impact of their employers’ and clients’ own primary care programs.

Description: Inflation and the possibility of recession are major factors affecting health care cost increases over the next five years. Insurance and medical organization will continue to evolve but are unlikely to create major shifts in the short run. However, over the long run structural changes in providers and payment mechanisms will determine future trends – raising or lowering the health share of GDP depending upon public choices and private decisions.

Description: An in-depth analysis of the insurance landscape in China and seven key Asia Pacific Markets, focusing on the rapid development of critical illness products and the impact of technology on insurance purchasing behaviors.

Description: The cost of prescription drugs is top of mind for consumers, payers and policymakers. Despite legislative efforts, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, the problem remains. More than 30% of all Americans say they have not taken prescription drugs as prescribed in the last 12 months because of the expense. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an alternative to policy solutions: reimagining pharmacy financing in the commercial space using a value-based reimbursement methodology that increases transparency, encourages competition, aligns stakeholder incentives and mitigates total cost of care (TCOC) increases. This paper will demonstrate that it is possible to implement such a methodology under the current infrastructure, but one can identify limitations.