The Telehealth Work Group has released a new issue brief exploring the perspectives of the patients and providers, while also analyzing the financial, legal and regulatory aspects associated with telehealth.

The Life Experience Committee sent a report to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force outlining the 2019 individual life insurance mortality improvement recommendation for use with AG 38 and VM-20. 

The Life Capital Adequacy Committee sent a comment letter to the NAIC Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group on the requirements for long-horizon equity investments exposure. 

The Pension Practice Council released an issue brief, Pension Plan Maturity—Why Big Plans Mean Big Risk, that reviews measures of plan maturity, examines the resulting challenges, addresses potential strategies to ensure benefit security, and provides a framework to mitigate the risks associated with a mature plan.

The Academy’s Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR) sent a comment letter to the NAIC’s Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force Actuarial Opinion Working Group (AOWG) on the Regulatory Guidance on Property and Casualty Statutory Statements of Actuarial Opinion, Actuarial Opinion Summaries, and Actuarial Reports for the Year 2019, which was issued on Aug. 30. COPLFR also sent a second comment letter to the AOWG on the Sept. 17 revision of the guidance document.

Jason Kehrberg, chairperson of the YRT Field Test Project Oversight Group, provided an update on Sept. 12 NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task force call. 

The Lifetime Income Risk Joint Committee sent a letter to the Employee Benefits Security Administration providing comments on the ERISA Advisory Council Report. 

The Health Practice Council released an issue brief, Surprise Medical Bills: An Overview of the Problem and Approaches to Address It, providing an overview of the surprise-billing problem and insights on approaches how to address it. Read the news release.

The Longevity Risk Task Force submitted a comment letter to the NAIC Longevity Risk (A/E) Subgroup providing additional assumption sensitivities to the proposed longevity C-2 risk factors. 

The Pension Committee, Multiemployer Plans Committee, and Public Plans Committee submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board regarding exposure drafts of Actuarial Standard of Practice Nos. 27 and 35.

The Multiemployer Plans Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries released notes from its March 2019 meeting with representatives of the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and the Department of Labor (DOL) pertaining to applications by plans in critical and declining status to suspend benefits or partition liabilities as permitted under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014, withdrawal liability, mergers and transfers, and possible multiemployer pension reform legislation.

The Life Illustrations Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC IUL Illustration (A) Subgroup providing answers to questions on the illustrations of Indexed Universal Life products under AG 49. 

Health Solvency Subcommittee comments to the NAIC Health Risk-Based Capital (HRBC) Working Group in response to the HRBC Working Group comment letters received on the exposure of the Draft Bond Structure and Instructions.

Members of the LTC Reform Subcommittee submitted comments following their discussion with the Federal Interagency Task Force on Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) earlier this year. These comments reiterate and expand on their original discussion including addressing regulatory hurdles to innovation.

The Long-Term Care Valuation Work Group presented updates on the mortality and lapse tables development

The Group Life Waiver Valuation Table Work Group updated the Health Actuarial Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on group life waiver of premium mortality and recovery tables development.

Steve Jackson, Academy assistant director for research (public policy), presented an overview of the Academy’s research initiative—its goals, infrastructure, and projects—at the Actuarial Research Conference in Indianapolis.

The Pension Committee submitted comments to the Society of Actuaries Retirement Plans Experience Committee regarding the Pri-2012 exposure draft.

The Academy has released a new Essential Elements paper, Creating a National Retirement Policy, outlining the ways in which a comprehensive national retirement policy could potentially address concerns about retirement security in the United States. Essential Elements is a series designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues clearer to general audiences.

The Longevity Risk Task Force provided an update and correlation recommendation to the Life Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group at the NAIC Summer 2019 National Meeting.