Description: This is the databook for the "Health Care Cost - From Birth to Death". This study used commercial data held by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) and Medicare fee-for-service data to analyze health care cost differences by age and their contribution to overall health care cost change. The commercial data includes claims from 2002 through 2010 and the Medicare data includes claims from 2006 through 2010.

Description: The heathcare academic literature seems to be saturated with articles on technology. This paper presents summaries of several articles that are intended to be representative, covering a wide range of topics relating to the impact of technology on the healthcare system.

Description: Recap of the Health Policy Summit held in honor of Health Affairs’ 25th anniversary.

Description: Update on the SOA Health Section's Public Health Task Force's comment on Health People 2030.

Description: This abstract describes a presentation that reviews the latest AHCA update and its impact on market stability from short-term and long-term points of view.

Description: Article summarizes the sessions of the 2011 SOA Health Meeting held in Boston.

Description: Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a newer model of primary care delivery in which patients or employers pay for care directly on a membership basis; insurance and other third-party payment is not used. Early studies show significantly improved patient health outcomes and lower expenditures for DPC patients compared with similar patients receiving traditionally delivered primary care. Additional research is needed to better understand physician perspectives about the model and the role of patient selection in early results.In this session we discuss research projects that may shed light on the DPC model and on whether early results indicate more about the model or about the patients who use it.We discuss an SoA research project that interviews DPC physicians to better understand their views about the model and its early results. We also discuss a paper that analyzes characteristics of patients who receive primary care from a DPC physician and compares them to characteristics of patients who receive primary care in more traditional ways. This cross-sectional study surveys all adult patients of a convenience sample of several DPC practices. Variables include demographics, socio-economic status (SES), type of additional coverage (if any), whether DPC fees are paid by an employer, and self-reported health status. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is the main source of comparison data. For a given cohort of demographics and additional coverage, we determine whether DPC patients have similar health status, demographics and SES as non-DPC patients. This study will provide insight into the degree of selection into DPC by observable patient characteristics.

Description: Predictive Analytics and Epigenetics are two of the most impactful driving forces for the future of healthcare, precision medicine, and insurance. Learn why this is true, how if will change the way our industry operates, and how you can stay viable and contribute to the betterment of humanity while also protecting the actuarial profession from obsolescence. Learn how personalized medicine keying off genetic testing is saving life insurers big dollars. The only limit seems to be testing access for their insureds.

Description: The article provides insights about the need for revolutionary actuaries in Saudi Arabia due to the reform that is happening across the kingdom under all sectors. Then I talk briefly about the health sector and the transformation that is happing in the sector, and how qualified health actuaries can contribute to this health reform.

Description: This article is the third in a series from the '2011 Living To 100 Symposium.' It examines the growing concern about doctor to patient ratio, including perspectives from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.