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29Feb2012
Connect with your colleagues through the online directory
Social media and technology have made it easier than ever for us to get in touch with one another. In response to requests from members, the Online Directory of Actuarial Memberships has been enhan
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Accountable care organizations: Extending the techniques nationwide
by Greger Vigen, FSA Given rising health costs and continuing uneven quality, major players in the health care industry (hospitals, physician groups, insurance companies and professionals like actu
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Actuarial meta-cognition
by Dave Ingram, executive vice president, Willis RE Thinking. Thinking about actuarial thinking. Last summer I stumbled on to a 50-year-long argument among psychologists about whether they should
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Retirement planning ideas focusing on the middle market
by Anna Rappaport, Anna Rappaport Consulting One of the biggest challenges in retirement security is what can be done that works effectively for the middle market. The January issue of the Journa
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Risk management links for the week of January 30
Each Friday we provide links to the best online articles and conversations about risk management. If you would like to add to this list, just leave a summary and a link in the comments section. Enjoy
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SOA 2011 Year in Review Report now available online
by Karen Perry, SOA publications manager We are pleased to introduce the 2011 Year in Review Report. This publication, available online at SOA.org, highlights the major initiatives and accomplishme
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Health care costs
by Jim Toole, managing director, life & health, FTI Consulting According to the Office of the Actuary, U.S. health spending grew more slowly in 2009 and 2010 than at any time since Medicare was signed into law. Driven by the recession, Americans delayed hospital care, avoided emergency room visits, and changed the way they purchased prescription drugs, reducing the growth in health spending close to the rate of the economy overall. Despite this, health insurance premiums grew faster than insurance spending, and the overall margins that insurers enjoyed increased. Some insurers were charging higher rates to address the uncertainty posed by the PPACA, but in general the costs associated with the changes in law have yet to materialize. Health benefit plan costs rose at rates higher than the rate of spending, squeezing margins and reducing the competitiveness of U.S. businesses internationally. Businesses responded by pushing more costs to employees, reducing overall benefits and switching to higher deductible plans with lower premiums. (more…)
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