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Transcript From Dismissal Hearing in Academy Litigation
The transcript of the court proceedings on Feb. 24, 2015, is now available. On that date, Judge Peter Flynn of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, dismissed without prejudice all claims against the Academy—including any claims for injunctive or declaratory relief—that had been filed in December by a former president of the Society of Actuaries.
During the proceedings, Judge Flynn said that the “plaintiff’s position apparently is that his agreement to the procedures set forth in the bylaws of the organizations for the activities of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline only applies if he likes what the Board is doing. ... Our court system is inclined not to want to overturn contractually agreed upon alternative dispute resolution mechanisms without some reason to do it.”
In dismissing the case, the court strongly affirmed that the U.S. actuarial profession may require members to have disciplinary complaints heard by the ABCD and not by the courts.
Public Policy Activities
- The Individual and Small Group Market Task Force published an issue brief examining how the rules applying to groups sized 51-100 will change with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) scheduled expansion of the definition of small employers, and what that will mean for insurance offerings in the small group market. Read the news release online and see media coverage on the issue brief below in the “In the News” section.
- The Terrorism Risk Insurance Subcommittee of the Casualty Practice Council sent a comment letter to the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the Treasury regarding the process by which terrorist events are certified for purposes of triggering the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (as recently amended).
- The Casualty Practice Council sent a comment letter to the Actuarial Standards Board on an exposure draft of a proposed actuarial standard of practice (ASOP), “Modeling.” Separately, the Pension Committee also submitted comments to the ASB on the ASOP exposure draft.
Newly Released
- In the March/April issue of Contingencies, read the feature article, “Smoke and Mirrors: Marijuana Use and Underwriting”—a look at how life insurance underwriting policies treat marijuana use, and whether that treatment is backed by sound science. Also in this issue are features on autonomous vehicle technologies and auto insurers, possible reforms for health care payment systems, and how little nudges based on Big Data can be used to influence people’s behavior. Also check out our annual Actuarial JobSeeker supplement, read a case study from the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, challenge yourself with puzzles, and more.
- The Record, the Academy’s annual report of activities, was updated to reflect activities through year-end. Included in this final edition are highlights of the many achievements for 2014 from the practice councils and professionalism committees and boards, as well as a detailed synopsis of the Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum.
Upcoming Events
- Register now: The Academy Capitol Forum lunchtime webinar series returns March 25 with “How Did State & Local Pension Plans Become Underfunded?” Jean-Pierre Aubry of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College will discuss the evolution of the unfunded liability in public plans and the impact of a few well-defined factors—such as poor investment returns, inadequate contributions, and benefit changes—on underfunding. Academy Senior Fellow Don Fuerst will moderate and highlight work the Academy is undertaking in this field.
Nominations Now Open for Academy’s Service and Volunteerism Awards
- Nominations are now open for the Academy’s Jarvis Farley Service Award, Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, and Outstanding Volunteerism Awards. Learn more and submit your nomination(s) for a deserving colleague or respected mentor.
Volunteer Action Required
- Committing on an annual basis to professional objectivity is required to perform volunteer work for the Academy. That’s why the Academy emailed each volunteer a second notice recently requesting that those who missed the first notice submit a conflict of interest (COI) acknowledgement and continuing education (CE) attestation. To comply, follow the instructions in the email or on the membership page under “COI and CE Acknowledgement.” Failure to comply will result in the volunteer being dropped from his or her committee(s).
Academy in the News
With the U.S. Supreme Court this week holding oral hearings on the King v. Burwell ACA case, the national news media continues to cite the Health Practice Council’s Feb. 24 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. The letter illustrates the potential ramifications the court’s decision may have on insurer solvency and the nation’s health care system as a whole. Stories in the Christian Science Monitor and Health Day have been widely published in local news outlets and health news blogs across the country.
Click the links below to read more King v. Burwell stories from this week that cite the Academy.
- A Bloomberg BNA story, “Little-Noticed ACA Provision Could Impact Small Group Plans in 2016,” reports on the Academy’s issue brief released this week. The story presents key points from the issue brief noting that “companies in the 51-100 size group with younger, healthier employees are likely to face higher premiums, while companies in that size group with older, sicker employees will pay less.” Bloomberg BNA also published a subscriber-only version of the story “Actuaries Say ACA Small Group Change Could Affect 3 Million.” The issue brief was also cited in Life & Health Advisor, and in a California Broker magazine story that focuses on the potential impact that the ACA’s new small group definition will have on California’s insurance market.
Note: Some links in this email go to external websites and may require registration. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites. Links may expire.
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