Description: Updates on the efforts of the Academy’s health practice council. its work groups and task forces, to educate health care policymakers on issues including health care reform, Medicare, loss ratios, premium review, reinsurance, benefit and eligibility changes, exchanges, and risk based capital.

Description: Feature article from the January 2010 issue of In The Public Interest discussing problems with funding of public programs.

Description: Discussion about career events for an actuary working on health care reform

Description: An examination of LTCI rate increases from three different perspectives: the insurance company, the policyholder, and the insurance department.

Description: A discussion of a gathering in Las Vegas of more than 500 insurance agents who discussed various answers to the question: Will there still be a long-term care insurance (LTCi) industry going forward?

Description: The author encourages the use of sound actuarial principles to develop reasonable retirement spending budgets instead of rule of thumb approaches commonly used.

Description: In the Leadership & Development Section’s Leadership Inspiration Contest, entrants were asked to tell us what inspired them to be a better actuarial leader. This is Fraser Smart's entry from the “Defining Moment/Event” category.

Description: The author explores the issue of longevity risk with its implications for life insurers and society at large, and concludes that the actuarial profession is in a unique position to understand longevity risk and offer solutions.

Description: Discussing famous individuals who have interacted with the Actuarial profession.

Description: A proposal to reform current health care market, from a 'preferred payer' system, in which Medicare and Medicaid pay less than the true cost while others must then pay more, to a 'value for money' system. This would be achieved by requiring providers to bill all patients the same rate for the same services, with a standard bundling format to make all providers' rate differences transparent. Differences between billed charges and what Medicare pays would be made up by the Medicare patient, rather than subsidized by those outside of Medicare.