The Medicare Committee released an issue brief on the financing challenges facing the Medicare program based on the 2022 Medicare Trustees Report.

The Long-Term Care (LTC) Reform Subcommittee’s LTC Actuarial Equivalence Work Group released the public policy issue brief, Value of Reduced Benefit Options in Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Increases. This issue brief examines the relationship of benefits to premiums for reduced benefit options (RBOs) in the context of ongoing long-term care insurance (LTCI) premium rate increases.

Group Life Waiver Premium Valuation Table Work Group chairperson, Sue Sames, presented an update on proposed recommendations to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Health Actuarial (B) Task Force on the Group Life Waiver of Premium Valuation Table and Actuarial Guideline 44 (AG 44). The purpose of the presentation was to give an overview of the work group’s progress and present the initial set of recommendations.  

On April 9, 2022, Academy Board member and Health Equity Work Group (HEWG) Chairperson Annette James presented to about 150 students at the Drake Symposium on Insurance on “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Actuarial Profession.” Chairperson James highlighted the Academy’s strategic focus and ongoing efforts to address DE&I, including fostering a diverse, inclusive profession. She also presented on ongoing multifaceted HEWG initiatives to address health equity. 

Academy Health Practice Council (HPC) Vice Chairperson, Barb Klever, provided an update on HPC activities to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Health Actuarial (B) Task Force during the Virtual 2022 Spring National Meeting.

The Health Care Delivery Committee released an issue brief on the “Implications of Hospital Price Transparency on Hospital Prices and Price Variation.” The brief emphasizes that price transparency may be a necessary, but not sufficient mechanism, to lower hospital prices and health care spending.

The Long-Term Care Medicaid Subcommittee submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the proposed rule, “Medicare Program; Contract Year 2023 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs.” The comments focused on dual-eligible special needs plans (D-SNP’s) and separate medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements.

Medicare Committee Chairperson Rina Vertes and Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello submitted a statement for the record to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth regarding the Feb. 2 hearing, “The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Future of Medicare Financing.”

Academy President Maryellen Coggins submitted a letter to the Colorado Division of Insurance in advance of the upcoming stakeholder engagement process for the recently passed state law aimed to protect consumers from unfair discrimination in insurance practices. The comments addressed potential concerns of the law’s impact on casualty, health, and life insurance.

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) on the Draft 2023 Actuarial Value (AV) Calculator Methodology.

The Health Practice Council’s Individual and Small Group Markets Committee, Risk Sharing Subcommittee, and Health Equity Work Group submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on CMS’ proposed rule for the 2023 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP). The letter addresses network adequacy, standardized plan options, several provisions on health equity, updating quality improvement strategy standards and other topics.

The Health Solvency Subcommittee submitted a report to the NAIC’s Health Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group regarding the working group’s request of the subcommittee to conduct a comprehensive review of the H2—Underwriting Risk component and managed care credit calculation in the NAIC’s health risk-based capital formula.

In October 2021 the American Academy of Actuaries Health Equity Work Group issued a request for information (RFI) to solicit input to its work assessing whether and how health actuarial practices and methods affect health disparities. The comment/submission period has now been extended to February 15, 2022.

The Academy created the Health Equity Work Group with a goal of contributing to efforts to reduce health disparities and improve health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations and underserved or under-resourced communities through actuarial practice and to facilitate providing actuarial input into the public policy process.

Health actuaries often partner with other professionals in many different aspects of the health care and health insurance systems, including those related to administration, financing, and care management. The Health Equity Work Group has identified four areas in which health actuaries are involved that may affect health disparities, either by contributing to disparities or by mitigating disparities: health insurance benefit design, provider contracting and network development, premium pricing, and managing population risk. The work group is also exploring data collection issues. More information about their work and publications thus far is available here.

Learn more about the RFI here. The comment deadline is February 15, 2022. Comments should be submitted via email to healthequityRFI@actuary.org. Please include the phrase “HEWG Request for Information” in the subject line and do not password-protect any attachments. Comments may be sent via conventional mail to: Health Equity Work Group (HEWG), American Academy of Actuaries, 1850 M Street NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036.

The Long-Term Care Valuation Work Group presented results of the Long-Term Care Insurance Mortality and Lapse Study to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Health Actuarial (B) Task Force.

Academy Health Practice Council (HPC) Vice Chairperson, Barb Klever, provided an update on the 2021 HPC activities to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Health Actuarial (B) Task Force.