Description: Learn about key actuarial and analytic tools and methodologies used by commercial health insurance to identify and quantify drivers of healthcare cost and utilization (including wasteful and low-value ones) and risks. Use case scenarios in which these tools and methodologies apply, such as underwriting, reinsurance, medical management for population health and chronic diseases, managed care contracting, insurance market reform, provider payment reform, etc., will also be covered. Experience from the U.S., China and other parts of the world will be shared.

Description: Leader Interview With Greger J. Vigen

Description: A summary recap of the recent SOA Health Conference held in Dallas, TX in June of 2025. With the intentional use of AI to assist with the summary, this article gives a good overview of the recent conference with personal commentary from one of the attendees.

Description: The prospects for China's health insurance has increased significantly in 2018, incentivized by a series of favorable government policies to support the development of commercial health insurance. However, the market still lacks relatively mature products and services. Overall there is a common understanding in the industry that good coverage plus service is the foundation for health insurance future development, and product innovation plus care management is key for an insurance company to maintain sustainable development in the competition. In this presentation, Dr. Yang will discuss the market trend both at home and abroad with respect to health management as well as its impact on product design, pricing and cost control. With the development of internet and big data, today’s health actuary has a special role in taking advantage of the digital transformation and achieving a high-quality and efficient health care service model.

Description: While intended to assist health plan actuaries responsible for stress testing and ORSA filings, this session will also be informative for actuaries interested in communicating the impact of potential catastrophic events for health plans to their management and board. It will begin with a discussion of event thresholds for stress tests and their impact on capital and financial statements. Presenters will take a detailed look at several catastrophic event case studies (historical and hypothetical) in the following areas: healthcare specific (e.g. pandemic, specialty Rx), financial institution/credit market, operational/business, strategic and multi-event scenarios.</

Description: Derek Ray shares his excitement on serving as Chair of the Health Section Council in 2024, including recent section achievements, upcoming activities and a call to action for volunteers to contribute their expertise to the SOA.

Description: This introduction to Captive Insurance Companies will provide an overview that includes the history of captives, different types of captives, common applications, how captives work, why employers form or join a captive, and a Medical Stop Loss Group Captive case study.

Description: A look back at 2024, reviewing and highlighting the things that the SOA Health Section Council accomplished, including education, research, webcasts, networking, and a new Health Section Council action plan that will be used on an ongoing basis to target, track, and measure areas of focus for the council, to better serve membership.

Description: This research report is sponsored by The Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries on the Canadian health care system. Performed by Stéphane Levert, FSA, FCIA, the study (available in French and English) estimated the future costs of the Canadian health care system, assessed the sustainability of the system over a 25-year horizon, and analyzed the implications of the changes to the Canada Health Transfer proposed on Dec. 19, 2011 by the federal government. The report summarizing the findings indicates that, without significant government intervention, the Canadian health care system in its current form is not sustainable.

Description: Adam Barnhart and Stephanie Moench, the co-charis of the new Health Community, announce the official community launch, which merges the former Long-Term Care and Health Section Councils into a single, unified group. The community aims to foster professional development through high-quality education, research, and collaborative networking for actuaries. To ensure a personalized experience within this large organization, members are encouraged to join one of more than 12 specialized subgroups. These groups offer focused discussions and expert insights via regular topic calls and private listservs. Under the new community model, members have flexible opportunities to contribute without needing to hold an elected position. Volunteers are sought for content creation (articles, podcasts, and webcasts), subgroup leadership, and industry research projects. Members can browse available subgroups and volunteer opportunities through the Society of Actuaries (SOA) website. By integrating these legacy sections, the Health Community strives to build a vibrant, innovative future for its members at every career stage.