The High-Performance Network Work Group of the American Academy of Actuaries has released a new issue paper, High-Performance Networks. Drawing on recent public policy debates about addressing health care spending, this paper explores the expansion of high-performance networks (HPNs) which generally focus on delivering high-quality and efficient care, as a potential solution.
The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee sent comments to the Office of Regulations and Interpretations within the Employee Benefits Security Administration in response to the Department of Labor's proposed rule on the definition of employer—small business health plans.
( )The Joint P&C/Health Bond Factors Analysis Work Group submitted a discussion draft of a report on P/C and Health bond factors for consideration by the NAIC’s Joint Health RBC and P/C RBC Drafting Group.
The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee sent comments to Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in response to the Department of Health and Human Services’ request for information on promoting healthcare choice and competition.
( )The Academy released a summary of select significant regulatory and legislative developments in 2017 at the state, federal, and international levels of interest to the U.S. actuarial profession.
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The winter StateScan Quarterly highlights state legislation in the past quarter related to auto insurance, health insurance marketplace changes, pension plans, principle-based reserving, and more. For a comprehensive review, log in to StateScan, the legislative and regulatory portal free for Academy members.
( )The Health Practice Council submitted a letter to the U.S. House and Senate providing comments on the potential consequences of eliminating the ACA's individual mandate, as possible in the conference committee for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
( )The Health Practice International Committee published an issue brief on global aging demographics, quality of life during the end-of-life period, palliative versus curative care, and strategies for address health care challenges at the end of life using case studies from a variety of countries.
( )The Risk Sharing Subcommittee and Premium Review Work Group submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the proposed rule for the 2019 benefit and payment parameters. The comments address proposed changes to the risk sharing mechanisms, special enrollment periods, essential health benefits, minimum essential coverage, and medical loss ratios.
The Health Practice Council submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate providing comments on the potential consequences of eliminating the ACA's individual mandate, as recently included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
( )The Comparative Effectiveness Work Group of the Health Care Delivery Committee published an issue brief providing an actuarial overview of comparative effectiveness research, including measuring its impact and its potential to reduce health care costs.
( )Chair of the LTC & Disability Committee, Al Schmitz, gives a presentation to the National Conference of Insurance Legislators about long-term care and sales and premium increase data; understanding premium rate increases; and essential criteria in LTC reform.
( )The Academy published a new Essential Elements paper, Tax Treatment of Pensions and Insurance Protections, highlighting select tax treatments of pensions and insurance protections, and outlining the potential public policy trade-offs of changes to the tax code. Essential Elements is a series designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues clearer to general audiences.
The Health Practice Council sent a letter to the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and HHS on the October 12 executive order.
( )The Health Practice Council sent comments to U.S. Senate Leadership on the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Proposal (GCHJ), which would make revisions to the individual health insurance market and approaches to federal Medicaid funding.
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