The ASB recently adopted ASOP No. 45, The Use of Health Status Based Risk Adjustment Methodologies. The new ASOP provides guidance to actuaries applying health status based risk adjustment methodologies to quantify differences in relative healthcare resource use due to differences in health status. The standard is effective for any professional services using health status based risk adjustment methodologies performed on or after July 1, 2012.
Recent Events
Actuaries at more than 1,800 sites joined today’s Health Practice Council webinar, The Affordable Care Act (ACA)—What Every Actuary Should Know. Presenters David Shea, Shari Westerfield, and Tom Wildsmith provided an overview of health insurance expansion and market reform provisions in the ACA. They also detailed the current status of implementation and how the Academy has been involved in the development of proposed rules and regulations implementing the law. In addition, the presentation and the Q&A with attendees covered the Academy’s Jan. 27 amicus curiae brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the pending challenge to the ACA. This webinar is part of an ongoing effort by the Health Practice Council to help all actuaries stay informed on the latest developments in health reform. Click here to view the webinar slides.
Earlier this week the Academy jointly sponsored a webinar with the Society of Actuaries, Medical Loss-Ratios—Final Regulations and Repercussions for the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Feb. 8 webinar was a timely, detailed discussion for practitioners of the rules governing medical loss ratio standards. More than 225 actuaries attended the webinar. To learn more and order the webinar, visit the SOA webinar page.
Media Coverage
House and Senate at Impasse on Medicare Payments
New York Times, Feb. 6, 2012
Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello, a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, was quoted on the question of parity in Medicare payments for services provided in physician offices and hospital outpatient clinics. “It just does not make sense to pay a lot more for pretty much the same service in a hospital setting,” Uccello told the Times.
Why are AMR pension estimates so different?
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Feb. 6, 2012
Former Academy Pension Vice President Ethan Kra is quoted extensively in this look at the size of American Airlines’ pension obligations. “There’s a fundamental difference in perspectives” between American’s valuation of its pension obligations and the estimate of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), Kra said. “The PBGC is using a very conservative rate,” he noted.
Risk in forcing through Medicaid reform
Wichita Eagle/Kansas.com, Feb. 6, 2012
A 1996 Academy study that warned that states that fail to gain support for managed care reform among providers and the public, or that quickly implement the changes, are less likely to succeed, was cited in a blog post about plans by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to turn Medicaid into a managed care system.
Website: New Postings
The Health Practice Council and Committee on Qualifications submitted a letter to the Arizona department of insurance stressing its concern that the department’s regulatory definition of “qualified actuary” for health premium rate actuarial certifications is inappropriate and suggesting corrective language.
The Risk Analysis Subgroup of the CAWGresponded to questions from the NAIC Contingent Deferred Annuity (A) Subgroup regarding market returns and contingent annuities volatility.
Member Alerts
Pension Alert: The Treasury Department issued proposed regulations and revenue rulings relating to providing lifetime income through qualified retirement plans. The rules and rulings address both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and individual retirement accounts. Log in to read the full alert.
Life Alert: Towers Watson released its long-awaited draft report evaluating the impact of the proposed principle-based reserving method on the U.S. life insurance industry. Log in to read the full alert.
Upcoming Events
Save the date—March 14—for the upcoming U.S. Qualification Standards webinar sponsored by the Council on Professionalism.
Presenters will review the salient aspects of the U.S. Qualification Standards and clarify certain key provisions. Presenters also will address frequently asked questions. More information coming soon!
March 7 webinar: Lifetime Income—Risks and Solutions
Don’t miss the chance to learn about the risks of inadequate lifetime income, current options to address the risk, and the range of policy solutions to help retirees better prepare for managing lifetime retirement needs. Presenters also will discuss new initiatives underway within the Academy to advance the dialogue on longevity risk and how the unique skills of the actuarial profession can contribute to solutions. Learn more.
March 15 webinar: Risk Classification & the New Academy Monograph.
Register now to learn more about the concepts underlying risk classification as it is applied in all practice areas. The webinar will be based on the Academy’s Risk Classification Work Group’s monograph, On Risk Classification, published in November 2011, which updates the 1980 Risk Classification Statement of Principles. Learn more.
Reminders
Academy Volunteers Required to Acknowledge COI Policy and CE Requirements
Academy members who serve as members of any Academy boards, councils, committees, sub-committees, task forces, and work groups, etc. (collectively “Committee”), must acknowledge annually the existing Conflict of Interest (“COI”) policy and attest to compliance with the continuing education requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standards. To comply, log into the members-only page, then click on the “COI and CE Acknowledgment” link on the right-hand side of the page and follow the instructions. Read prior message regarding compliance.
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