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Academy Releases Series of Papers Marking Medicare’s 50th Anniversary
Medicare turned 50 on Thursday, and the Academy—which also is marking its 50th anniversary this year—noted the milestone for the federal health care program by releasing several papers in the “Medicare@50” series.
“Medicare has played a critical role in meeting the health care needs of nearly all Americans age 65 and older and millions of younger Americans with disabilities,” said Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello in an Academy news release. “With 10,000 Americans now enrolling in Medicare every day, it’s more important than ever to take stock of the program.”
The new papers are:
Stay tuned for additional papers in the series.
Recently Released: July Actuarial Update
The July issue of Actuarial Update leads with a story on the Actuarial Standards Board’s public hearing on public pensions, which was held July 9 in Washington. Other topics covered include a look at a new issue brief that examines international wellness programs in several different countries, coverage of the July 22 professionalism webinar on modeling, and an update on sessions for the Academy’s Annual Meeting and 50th anniversary celebration in Washington on Nov. 12-13.
Academy Volunteer Survey Due Wednesday
Responses are due Aug. 5 for the annual volunteer survey. The Academy’s volunteers are essential to its work, and the annual volunteer survey allows you, in a few short minutes, to inform the Academy of the experience, interests and skills you can contribute to Academy committees—including the Actuarial Standards Board, the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, and the Pension Assistance List (PAL program). Committees that are currently seeking volunteers are noted in the survey, and vacancies occur throughout the year, so committees not currently seeking volunteers also are listed. Noting your interest will be of great help to the committee chairpersons, and will increase the likelihood of matching your expertise and interest to a committee’s needs.
If you have any questions about volunteering or about the survey, please contact Kasha Shelton by email at volunteer@actuary.org or by phone at 202-223-8196.
Issue Brief Released on Social Security’s Financial Condition
The Academy’s Social Security Committee released an issue brief following the release of the annual Social Security Trustees Report. The issue brief, An Actuarial Perspective on the 2015 Social Security Trustees Report, notes that the program’s combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2034—a year later than last year’s report—and that only about 79 percent of scheduled benefits would be payable following that year, and declining to 73 percent in 2089.
The Academy’s Social Security Committee believes that any modifications to the Social Security system should include “sustainable solvency” as a primary goal. Sustainable solvency means that not only will the program be solvent for the next 75 years under the reform methods adopted, but also that the trust fund reserves at the end of the 75-year period will be stable or increasing as a percentage of annual program cost. Click here to read the issue brief.
Public Policy Activities
Academy Councils Send Comments to NAIC on E Committee Questionnaire: The Casualty Practice Council, Health Practice Council, Life Practice Council, and Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council sent comments to the NAIC on its Financial Condition (E) Committee questionnaire that examines the reasons for single-state solutions and to help regulators develop a process for creating a uniform framework for state-based regulation. Task Force Comments on Price Optimization: The Price Optimization Task Force submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force, providing input on the recommendations section of its Price Optimization White Paper. Academy Committees Comment on PCAOB Auditor and Specialist Paper: The Financial Reporting Committee, Pension Accounting Committee, Casualty Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting, Health Financial Reporting and Solvency Committee, and Life Financial Reporting Committee sent comments to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on its The Auditor’s Use of the Work of Specialists consultation paper. -
Medicaid Subcommittee Sends Comments to CMS: The Medicaid Subcommittee sent a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on proposed rules about the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs.
Subcommittee Submits Comments on Terrorism Risk Insurance: The Terrorism Risk Insurance Subcommittee submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Blanks Working Group on its terrorism risk insurance supplement and instructions draft.
Upcoming Events
Coming Next Week—International Insurer Capital Standards Webinar: Join us Aug. 4 for a webinar during which members of the Academy’s Solvency Committee will provide a detailed look at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) insurer capital standard, including the finalized basic capital requirement, the proposed insurance capital standard, and the proposed higher loss absorbency requirement.
The webinar will provide an overview of the Solvency Committee’s basic solvency principles for domestic and international policymakers developing capital standards and an in-depth examination of the IAIS’s activities related to insurer capital standards. Ned Tyrell, international technical policy adviser of the NAIC, joins fellow members of the Solvency Committee Novian Junus and Henry Siegel as presenters. Solvency Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Brill will moderate. Register now. Post-NAIC Webinar Set for Aug. 27: Join the Life Practice Council on Aug. 27 for a webinar reviewing the NAIC’s summer national meeting in mid-August. Presenters will include Mary Bahna-Nolan, the Academy’s vice president for life; Dave Neve, chairperson, Life Reserves Work Group; Philip Barlow, associate commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance Securities & Banking’s Insurance Bureau; and Michael Boerner, director of the Actuarial Office at the Texas Department of Insurance. Click here for more information. Discount Registrations End Today for VM-20 Seminar: “Vrmm, Vrmm, VM-20—Start Your Engines, The Race to the PBR Finish Line Is On!” Learn all about VM-20 and PBR at this seminar, which will offer practical examples of how to implement new life principle-based reserve requirements. Sessions will outline the basics of performing a VM-20 calculation—ideal for those with little to no understanding of the VM-20 requirements—as well as complex VM-20 requirements and strategies to successfully implement VM-20. The seminar, to be held Sept. 2 in Boston, follows the 2015 Valuation Actuary Symposium, also in Boston. Discount registrations run through today. Register Now for Webinar on International Health Care Cost Drivers: Health care cost growth is a global issue. Regardless of the structure of their systems—public, private, or some combination—countries all over the world have to evaluate and address varying degrees of health care cost growth. Exploring comparative experience with health care cost trends and the drivers of cost increases worldwide is the objective of a 2015 webinar series jointly sponsored by the American Academy of Actuaries’ Health Practice International Task Force and the International Actuarial Association Health Section.
Join us Sept. 2 for the third webinar in this series, which will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the successes and challenges that both Australia and Singapore have experienced as they have worked to identify and address particular cost drivers. This webinar will be a 90-minute examination and analysis of both countries’ health care systems, with a focus on health care cost trends. Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar Set for September: The 2015 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS) and Workshops, jointly sponsored by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, will be held Sept. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta. Attend the 2015 CLRS to learn from expert analysis of innovation in reserving. For more information on registration, please email arc@casact.org or visit the CLRS website. The 2015 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar will be held Nov. 9-12 in Arlington, Va. (metropolitan Washington), just prior to the Academy’s Annual Meeting in Washington. Click here for registration information. -
Registration Continues for the Academy’s 50th Anniversary Celebration: Educational and plenary sessions at the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum Nov. 12-13 in Washington will offer public policy and professionalism content relevant to all actuarial areas of practice on topical casualty, health, life, pension practice, and professionalism issues. Plan to join in a festive and fascinating celebration of the Academy’s 50th anniversary this year. Discount registrations are available through Aug. 31. For a look at the preliminary meeting agenda, click here.
Alerts
- The NAIC Health Actuarial (B) Task Force (HATF) has exposed a report on the analysis of the Medicare supplement refund formula. Read the full alert here or in the member section under “Health Issues.”
- Today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released updated static mortality tables to be used for defined benefit pension plans under § 430(h)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and § 303(h)(3)(A) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The tables apply for purposes of calculating the funding target and other items for valuation dates occurring during calendar year 2016. See the full alert here or in the member section under “Pension Issues.”
In the News
Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello was quoted in a McClatchyDC story, “Medicare and Medicaid Face Growing Pains at Age 50.” The story appeared in more than 25 newspapers nationwide, including Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee. Tim Leier, chairperson of the Academy’s Social Security Committee, was quoted in the Ledger Gazette on the need for Congress to address the projected depletion of the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund late next year. Leier said how lawmakers respond to the urgency of the problem “will be a great test to show us how Congress will go about solving the long-term issues facing the rest of Social Security.” A link to the Academy’s issue brief, Medicare’s Financial Condition: Beyond Actuarial Balance, was posted in BenefitsLink.com’s Health & Welfare Plans newsletter. A link to the Academy’s issue brief, An Actuarial Perspective on the 2015 Social Security Trustees Report, was posted in BenefitsLink.com’s Retirement Plans Newsletter and in the Social Security Report. The release of the Academy’s first three Medicare@50 papers was reported in The Katy News (Texas). A story by the Georgia Health Care Association on health policy changes expected in 2016 cites the Academy issue brief, Potential Implications of the Small Group Definition Expanding to Employers with 51-100 Employees.
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