Committees Send Letter to Congress on Health Care ACA Repeal-Replace Measure
The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee and the Medicaid Subcommittee sent comments Wednesday to U.S. House of Representatives leadership on H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a bill intended to repeal and replace provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The AHCA was scheduled to be voted on by the House on Thursday but the vote was postponed; the House may vote on the measure today.
Just Announced—Webinar on Health Care Legislative Developments: Join the Academy next Friday, March 31, from 11 a.m. to noon EDT for a Health Practice Council webinar on the current status of efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, including insights from the Health Practice Council’s recent Capitol Hill visits with congressional and government agency staff on a variety of health care issues. The webinar will also provide an overview on key provisions of the AHCA. This webinar is free for Academy members. Register today.
Academy Representatives Meet With Congressional, Agency Staff on Flood Insurance
Casualty Practice Council (CPC) Vice President Rade Musulin and Academy Senior Casualty Fellow Jim MacGinnitie visited Capitol Hill this week, as Congress considers changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). MacGinnitie and Musulin talked with majority and minority staff of the House Financial Services Committee, and met with Congressional Research Service and Government Accountability Office analysts who follow this and other insurance issues. Musulin is also chairperson of the CPC’s Flood Insurance Work Group, which will release its updated NFIP monograph soon.
ASB Releases Annual Report
The Actuarial Standards Board’s (ASB) 2016 Annual Report, released this week, details the ASB’s accomplishments last year, which included adoption of three revised actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs), approval of seven exposure drafts for comment, approval of a proposal for one revised ASOP, and a final report by the ASB’s Pension Task Force. The ASB also approved the formation of a task force to revise ASOP No. 32, Social Insurance, and presented a webinar on cross-practice standards.
Global Health Webinar Looks at LTC in U.S., Germany
The webinar was moderated by Academy Board of Directors member April Choi, who is also chairperson of Academy Health Practice International Committee. Panelists were Sam Gutterman, vice chairperson of the International Actuarial Association’s (IAA) Population Issues Working Group; Sabrina Link, a member of the German Actuarial Society; and Andrew Dalton, a member of the Academy’s LTC Reform Subcommittee.
The presenters highlighted a new report issued by the IAA’s Population Issues Working Group, challenges and criteria of LTC programs, principles of LTC insurance, demographics of the two countries, and public/government versus private funding of LTC. Slides and audio will be available to members on the Academy’s webinar page soon.
COI, CE Acknowledgments—Last Call
The Academy has sent out its final notice that it will drop those volunteers and interested parties who have not submitted annual conflict of interest and continuing education acknowledgments required by the Academy to continue to participate in their respective councils, committees, task forces, and work groups.
These acknowledgments are a vital element in the Academy’s culture of objectivity, and they remind volunteers of their responsibility to participate in Academy work in a manner that maintains our high standards in providing unbiased and independent actuarial input for informing policymakers considering a wide array of U.S. fiscal and societal challenges.
For more information about the Academy’s commitment to professional objectivity, please visit the Professional Objectivity at the Academy page. If you have any questions, please contact the Academy’s professionalism department at objectivity@actuary.org.
Recently Released
The latest issue of Retirement Account covers the Academy’s recent meetings with federal officials on multiemployer pension plans, Senior Pension Fellow Ted Goldman’s recent presentation to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an issue brief on pension cost determination, and recent legislative and regulatory developments, and includes a look ahead to the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting to be held in Washington April 2–5.
Upcoming Events
Next Tuesday—Professionalism Webinar on Practical Applications of the Code: Join the Academy next Tuesday, March 28, for “Practical Applications of the Code of Professional Conduct.” The webinar, from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT, will feature Immediate Past President Tom Wildsmith, Vice President of Professionalism Joeff Williams, and Council on Professionalism member Chad Wischmeyer. Using case studies, as well as themes described in the “Web of Professionalism” series recently published in Contingencies, the panelists will present a lively discussion on the precepts of the Code and how best to integrate them into your daily work. Attendees will gain greater clarity on what each precept means, and ways to keep the Code at the forefront of their practice. Register today.
Early Registration Rates Available for May PBR Boot Camp: Early registration rates are available for the Academy’s PBR Boot Camp, to be held May 22–24 in Orlando, Fla. This intensive two-and-a-half-day seminar will deliver instructional sessions and interactive case studies to provide attendees with key learning experiences to implement and utilize principle-based reserving (PBR), just as many companies are starting to adopt this new practice. Earn up to 24 hours of organized-activity continuing education credit. Register today and plan to join your fellow actuaries for this popular seminar that will ensure you stay ahead of the PBR curve.
Extra-Early Registration for Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum: The best discounts are available now for the Academy’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, to be held Nov. 14–15 at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C. This annual, exceptional event will give you a unique and in-depth look at the top public policy and professionalism issues facing the actuarial profession. Register today at the discounted extra-early rate to ensure you are there to get the information you need to stay on top of the issues that matter the most to you, your profession, and our nation.
Public Policy Activities
The Multiemployer Plans Subcommitteereleased the notes of its Feb. 22 meeting with officials with Treasury and Labor departments and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation at which they discussed applications by multiemployer pension plans in critical and declining status to suspend benefits or partition liabilities.
The Life Operational Risk Work Groupsubmitted comments to the NAIC’s Operational Risk (E) Subgroup on a draft report on operational life risk-based capital.
In the News
A subscriber-only Bloomberg BNA story on the AHCA cited Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello and the Academy’s letter to Congress and the nation’s governors, which addressed approaches to federal Medicaid funding and continued actuarial soundness requirements, as well as the individual health insurance market. The letter was also cited by Modern Healthcare,Axios, and Inside Health Policy.
Senior Pension Fellow Ted Goldman discussed longevity risk in a retirement planning story published by TheStreet. A Pensions & Investments article on Multiemployer Pension Reform Act benefit suspensions quoted Goldman on the ongoing implementation of the application process.
CNN Money highlighted the widely praised Actuaries Longevity Illustrator, developed jointly by the Academy and the Society of Actuaries, as a tool for understanding lifetime income needs when choosing between a pension lump sum and annuity.
A Lexington Herald Leader(Ky.) op-ed discussing replacement options for the ACA cited the Academy’s issue brief on selling insurance across state lines.
The Huffington Post cited the Academy’s issue brief on 2016 health premium drivers in a story discussing replacement plans for the ACA.
The San Marcos Corridor News (Texas) used the Academy’s issue brief, The 80% Pension Funding Standard Myth, as a source in a special series article focused on the financial condition of the Texas Public Employees Retirement System.
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