Small Group Market Task Force issue brief describing the types of medical insurance pools, highlighting issues that are fundamental to pooling, and illustrating how changes within a multiple small-employer pool would affect medical costs. The issue brief also describes different rating methods and examines the potential effects of introducing a new rating mechanism in an existing insurance market. (September 30, 2006)

Pension Committee issue brief discussing the value of defined benefit (DB) pension plans. (July 03, 2006)

Retirement Security Principles Task Force issue brief examining how to modernize America's retirement programs to keep pace with longevity.

(April 24, 2006)

Mass Torts Subcommittee issue brief on current issues in asbestos litigation, including a summary of available litigation-related data and a highlight of recent changes in the litigation environment. (February 01, 2006)

Uninsured Subgroup updated issue brief providing insights on the fundamental questions facing policy-makers and health coverage sponsors, such as: What is health insurance coverage? What are ways to provide health care for the uninsured? What are the roles of individuals, employers, and government in health care financing? (December 31, 2005)

Social Security Committee issue brief on the use of stochastic models in analyzing Social Security.

(October 01, 2005)

Health Care Quality Work Group issue brief exploring definitions and measures of health care quality and examining the pay for performance approach to rewarding improvements in quality, particularly in the Medicare program. (October 01, 2005)

Disease Management Work Group issue brief providing policymakers and the public with a basic background on the financial evaluation of disease management programs and to highlight some of the analytical challenges. (April 27, 2005)

Association Health Plans Work Group issue brief examining some common questions about Association Health Plans. The issue brief also addresses some possible unintended consequences and related concerns that could arise if the creation of AHPs is not approached carefully. (March 01, 2005)

Senior Health Fellow issue brief outlining areas in which action, beyond the addition of the Medicare Part D program, could be taken to reform the Medicare program, including addressing long- term financing problems, balancing access to care while avoiding unnecessary utilization, private sector competition strategies, and addressing the insurance needs of individuals age 55 to 64. (February 01, 2005)

Medical Reinsurance Work Group issue brief providing a primer on the current commercial medical reinsurance market. The issue brief also outlines some of the issues policymakers should consider when designing and implementing a government-sponsored medical reinsurance program. (January 31, 2005)

Multiemployer Plans Task Force issue brief identifying several key principles of pension funding reform for multiemployer pension plans. (January 03, 2005)

Mental Health Parity Work Group original issue brief providing a description of mental health parity requirements and how group insurance plans have responded to those requirements. (December 01, 2004)

Medicaid Work Group issue brief identifying several provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 that may have an impact on state Medicaid budgets. (June 30, 2004)

The Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting's Issue Brief on Statements of Actuarial Opinion in Property/Casualty Insurance (first published December 2003; reformatted March 2004). (March 31, 2004)

Social Insurance Committee 2004 election guide on "The Questions Candidates Should Answer About ... Social Security Reform." (March 01, 2004)

Social Security Committee issue brief examining social adequacy and individual equity in Social Security (updates a 1998 issue brief.) (January 01, 2004)

Social Insurance Committee issue brief that examines the issues that policymakers would need to address if they were to create an individual account program for Social Security.

(October 01, 2003)

Uninsured Subgroup issue brief providing insights on the fundamental questions facing policy-makers and health coverage sponsors, such as: What is health insurance coverage? What are ways to provide health care for the uninsured? What are the roles of individuals, employers, and government in health care financing? (September 30, 2003)

Pension Committee issue brief examining whipsaw calculations for pension plans. (February 03, 2003)

Pension Committee issue brief examining defined benefit (DB) plans with 401(k) features. (January 01, 2003)

Workers' Compensation Subcommittee issue brief addressing medical privacy in the workers' compensation system. (August 01, 2002)

Medicare Steering Committee issue brief providing a primer on two approaches to reforming Medicare - should it retain its current defined benefit approach (similar to that used by traditional retirement plans) or should it be changed to a defined contribution approach (similar to that used by 401(k) retirement plans)? (July 01, 2002)

Defined Contribution Health Plan Work Group issue brief providing an overview of the defined contribution approach to health coverage. After a brief discussion of trends in health plan approaches and the factors contributing to the emergence of defined contribution health plans, the issue brief describes the characteristics and types of defined contribution health plans. (June 03, 2002)

Executive summary of the issue brief on understanding defined contribution health plans. (June 01, 2002)

Task Force on Genetic Testing Issues issue brief describing the nature of disability income and long-term care insurance and discussing, from the perspectives of both consumers and insurers, the implications of the newly emerging genetic technologies for these products. Strategies to effectively address this emerging dilemma of how best to respond to public concerns about the possible misuse of genetic information, while preserving the viability of the voluntary, individual disability income and long-term care insurance markets, are also explored. (April 30, 2002)

Executive summary of the issue brief on the use of genetic information in disability income and long-term care insurance. (April 25, 2002)

Academy statement offering an actuarial perspective on Medicare's financial condition. (April 01, 2002)

Social Security Committee issue brief examining quantitative measures for evaluating Social Security reform proposals. (April 01, 2002)

Genetic Testing Issues Task Force issue brief seeking to help policymakers and the public better understand the risk classification process in the long-term care and individual disability income markets. (December 03, 2001)