Academy Cites Potential Insurance Markets Risks After Executive Orders on AHPs, CSRs
The Academy cautioned that President Trump’s executive order on association health plans (AHPs) and short-term limited-duration insurance, released Thursday, could present significant risks and consequences for consumers and health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Read the Academy’s news release.
Separately, the Trump administration announced late Thursday that cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments will discontinue immediately after receiving a legal opinion from the attorney general. Federal funding for CSRs has been disputed under House v. Price, which challenges a lower court’s ruling in 2016 that determined the ACA’s reimbursements to insurers for CSRs were not validly appropriated by Congress.
The Academy’s Health Practice Council has urged Congress to take steps immediately to stabilize the individual health insurance market in light of CSRs ending, and has previously outlined why CSR reimbursements should be funded on a permanent basis. Read the news release.
Going to Boston for SOA? Support The Actuarial Foundation by ‘Upcycling’
The Academy announced an “upcycling” program this week to collect recently retired smart phones for reuse. Your old phones can support the work of The Actuarial Foundation, help the environment, and give you a charitable tax deduction. See Academy President Bob Beuerlein’s letter to members announcing the program’s kickoff for more details about the models that have value, what you need to do to them first, and how to donate them at the Academy’s booth in the exhibit hall at next week’s SOA Annual Meeting in Boston.
The Academy will also be at the upcoming annual meetings of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries in National Harbor, Md., the Casualty Actuarial Society in Anaheim, Calif., and of course at our Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 14–15.
Webinar Highlights Retirement Issues in the U.S., U.K., Australia
The American Academy of Actuaries and the U.K.-based Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) co-hosted a free webinar on retirement readiness Thursday that focused on the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The webinar, attended by more than 400 registered attendees in the U.S. and U.K.—focused on a new report authored by the Academy, the IFoA, and the Actuaries Institute of Australia, Retirement Readiness: A Comparative Analysis of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which shows that people in the three countries struggle with planning for retirement because they often are not equipped to address complex questions related to longevity and asset decumulation.
Presenters—Ted Goldman, the Academy’s senior pension fellow; Past Academy President Ken Hohman; IFoA Policy Manager Rebecca Deegan; and Steve Jackson, the Academy’s assistant director for research, public policy—outlined the report’s key findings based on a survey conducted in the three countries. Goldman gave an overview of the U.S. retirement system, while Deegan highlighted the U.K.’s retirement system and challenges. Slides and audio are available to members free of charge.
Annual Meeting Agenda Updates
Plenary to Explore “Professionalism Under Pressure”: The No. 1 ethical issue in actuarial practice is pressure by principals regarding assumptions, according to a professionalism survey conducted by the Academy. This is an ethical concern that crosses all practice areas, and that will be explored during a plenary session, “Professionalism Under Pressure,” at next month’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. See today’s announcement for newly announced details.
International Plenary Will Provide ICS Progress Report: Learn about the latest developments taking place at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) as it continues to craft a risk-based global Insurance Capital Standard (ICS). This newly announced plenary session—featuring Romain Paserot, head of capital and solvency at IAIS, and Craig Thorburn, lead insurance specialist at the World Bank—will give attendees a relevant and timely review of international insurance matters. Paserot and Thorburn have been actively involved in the development of the ICS as well as a variety of Insurance Core Principles. The session will be moderated by Solvency Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Brill.
Next Friday—Registration Deadline: Regular registration rates for the Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum will end next Friday, Oct. 20, and the Academy’s hotel room block also closes on this date. Register today, and plan to join us, and your peers, in Washington, D.C., Nov. 14–15.
November Webinar to Look at End-Of-Life Health Care
The Academy and the International Actuarial Association Health Section (IAAHS) will co-host a health webinar next month, “End-of-Life Care in an Aging World: A Global Perspective.” Using examples from several countries, the webinar will explore the increased health care costs of global aging, quality of life during the end-of-life period, palliative versus curative care, and strategies for addressing the unique health care challenges at the end of life. The webinar, to be held Nov. 10 from 11 a.m. to noon EST, is free to Academy and IAAHS members. Register today.
Recently Released
The October HealthCheck covers the Health Practice Council’s letter to U.S. Senate leadership on last month’s proposed health care legislation; Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello’s quotes in several news stories on attempts to reform the Affordable Care Act; and state legislative and regulatory updates.
Public Policy Activities
The C1 Work Groupsent comments to the NAIC’s Investment Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group on capital requirements for bonds.
The Life Reinsurance Work Groupsent comments to the NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles (E) Working Group on exposure draft 2017-28 relating to “Reinsurance Risk Transfer.”
The September/October Contingenciescover story, “An Imperfect Storm,” was cited in an Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.) editorial.
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