Description: Drivers of Health Care Affordability. Issue No. 45.

Description: Spreadsheet with documentation for exhibits to the May 2007 report: The Potential Impact of Pandemic Influenza on the U.S. Life insurance Industry

Description: Essay stating accessibility, affordability and efficiency are the key to success in the future of healthcare.

Description: A review of the 2009 Health Spring Meeting, which included speakers & sessions on the future of the SOA, U.S. health care reform, claims data issues & improvements, predictive modeling, underwriting principles, employer stoploss, cost trends, LTD & disability, and mental health parity regulations.

Description: An update on HMO market trends and reinsurance products, and services supporting them.

Description: This article discusses the growing number of cases of dementia and its effects on economics and loved ones.

Description: Overview of the book: Overtreated, Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer.

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: Why health care inflation exceeds the Consumer Price Index CPI due to tax implications. Issue No. 37.

Description: Ignite-style presentations feature presenters who get 20 slides, which automatically advance every 15 seconds. The result is a fast and fun presentation which lasts just five minutes.The first portion of this session will feature public health experts doing Ignite-style presentations on various public health topics. Then stick around for the second portion when all of the presenters will take part in a moderated, talk-show-style discussion. You'll get a chance to ask your questions and dig deeper into the topics you just heard about. Be prepared for a fast-paced, thought-provoking session that you'll remember long after it ends!