The Financial Reporting Committee submitted implementation questions for consideration by the IFRS Transitions Resource Group on IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts.

The Workers’ Compensation Committee provided comments to the NAIC’s Workers’ Compensation Task Force, describing the difficulty of comparing rates from one state to another.

The RBC Tax Reform Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC's Life Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group on changes to Risk-Based Capital calculations due to recent U.S. corporate tax reform. 

The Multiemployer Plans Committee sent a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans offering the expertise of the Multiemployer Plans Committee as a resource to the Joint Select Committee.

The Health Practice Council gave a briefing on Capitol Hill to policymakers and congressional and federal agency staff, offering expertise on the drivers of growth in drug expenses; benefits versus costs for new treatments; the impact of high and increasing prescription drug costs on payers; and options to address spending. Read the news release.

Past Academy President Mary D. Miller submitted two letters from the Academy to the NAIC this week—one responding to NAIC’s Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force’s (CASTF) request for comments on the appointed actuary’s public attestation and supporting confidential documentation, and a second responding to CASTF’s request for proposals on the three-year experience period.

The Prescription Drug Work Group published an issue brief highlighting prescription drug issues present in our health care system, including cost drivers, the effect on various stakeholders, and possible approaches that might help address the health care cost growth associated with prescription drugs.

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee sent comments to the U.S. Department of Labor on proposed rules regarding the definition of ‘‘Employer’’ under section 3(5) of ERISA—Association Health Plans.

The Health Practice Council sent comments to the Idaho Department of Insurance on allowing health insurers to offer state-based plans that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act in Idaho. 

The AG43/C3P2 Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC's Variable Annuities (E) Working Group on proposed modifications to Actuarial Guideline XLIII (AG43) and C-3 Phase II (C3P2). 

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 Non-Guaranteed Elements Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC's Life Insurance Buyer's Guide (A) Working Group on the revised draft for the Life Insurance Buyer's Guide. 

The Life Reserves Work Group submitted an APF to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on potential changes to VM-20 on the aggregation of mortality segments for the purpose of determining credibility. 

The Tax Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles (E) Working Group on SSAP 101 and Federal Income Tax Reform. 

The Solvency Committee submitted comments to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) on the Interim Consultation Paper on Activities-Based Approach (ABA) to Systemic Risk dated December 8, 2017. 

The Academy provided these comments in response to the NAIC’s exposure draft of the proposed Revised Qualified Actuary Definition for the Property/ Casualty (P/C) Actuarial Opinion Instructions.

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.

Senior Property and Casualty Fellow Kevin Ryan testified before the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee, commenting on legislation to prohibit the use of occupation, education, gender, and marital status as factors in determining private passenger automobile insurance rates.