Chairperson’s Corner

By Derek Ray

Health Watch, January 2024

Happy New Year! As the new chair of the Health Section Council (HSC), I am overwhelmingly excited and honored to serve our growing membership and the Society of Actuaries (SOA) in this new capacity—excited to expand on the HSC’s recent achievements and maintain positive momentum by continuing to create value for over 4,000 Health Section members, and honored to serve alongside a talented group of volunteers dedicated to bringing that value to you.

As I enter my third and final year on the HSC, I want to thank our outgoing council members—Kevin Francis, Shereen Sayre and Shuaiqing Liu—for their dedication and service to the council over the past three years, with a special thank-you to Kevin for serving as chair. I also want to congratulate and welcome our recently elected, incoming council members—Adam Barnhart, David Stoddard and Rhea Forsythe—and I look forward to working with them. As any team changes over time, I always admire the unique contributions, perspectives and value that each member brings to the team. Whether I’ve been part of a professional team or a group of friends or coaching my kids’ sports teams, it has become increasingly obvious to me that strong teamwork drives the best results. This reminds me of the well-known proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

The Health Section Council is dedicated to bringing forth new research, education and networking opportunities. Notable recent examples include:

• Research reports on topics such as reimagining pharmacy finance, long-term impacts of COVID-19, the unwinding of the public health emergency’s effect on Medicaid and more (thanks to Achilles Natsis, the HSC’s SOA staff actuary, who helps coordinate much of this)
• Education through over 15 articles published in HSC’s digital newsletter Health Watch (with thanks to Lydia Tolman and Karan Rustagi)
• Webcasts throughout the year, including topics like health care cost transparency, social determinants of health, bias in health care and more (thanks to Mandy Geyer and Lina Chan for organizing these)
• Networking and continuing education at the highly successful 2023 SOA Health Meeting, which was held in June 2023 in Seattle. The council is diligently and passionately planning the next meeting, to be held in Baltimore in June 2024 (thanks to Greg Fann, Gabby Guzman and David Stoddard for planning)

In early 2024, the HSC will convene in person to ensure a robust pipeline of future continued value, but let this also be a call to action to get involved and contribute your expertise! What are you passionate about that could benefit others? (Hint: there is always something.) Consider writing a brief article for Health Watch about a familiar topic, presenting on an HSC-sponsored webcast or copresenting a session at the SOA Health Meeting. Better yet, consider running for a seat on our Health Section Council! In other words: ask not what the HSC can do for you; ask what you can do for the HSC!

Finally, I’d like to give a big shout-out to Dee Berger, our SOA manager, Community Engagement, who tirelessly keeps the HSC on track.

I look forward to serving as your HSC chair in 2024 and hope you share my enthusiasm by contributing in any way you can. Hope to see you in Baltimore in June 2024!

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Derek Ray, FSA, MAAA, is a principal and senior actuary in Mercer’s Health & Benefits Practice and the 2024 chair of the SOA Health Section Council. Derek can be reached at Derek.Ray@Mercer.com.