In a Q&A, outgoing Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Chairperson Rick Block discusses the changes he has seen in six years on the board, including the past two as chairperson, and how the ABCD’s investigative and request for guidance processes work. (Actuarial Update, December 2018) (December 30, 2018)

Academy Pension Vice President Josh Shapiro submitted a comment letter to U.S. House leaders on The Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018. (December 19, 2018)

The December HealthCheck includes a comment letter from the Individual and Small Group Markets Committee about Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act; a comment letter to the IRS on a proposed rule regarding health reimbursement arrangements; a Health Practice Council letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the Medicare Advantage program; state and federal legislative and regulatory activity; and information on how to order the 2019 Life and Health Valuation Law Manual. (December 19, 2018)

The Intersector group released the notes of its April 2018 meeting with the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service.  (December 17, 2018)

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee submitted comments on the October guidance from the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services on State Relief and Empowerment Waivers under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, focusing on three areas: evaluation of coverage comprehensiveness and affordability, evaluation of coverage, and waiver funding. (December 17, 2018)

The Health Practice Council submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to its request for comments on proposed rules pertaining to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, including provisions to revise the risk adjustment data validation (RADV) payment error calculation methodology and process. (December 16, 2018)

The winter Casualty Quarterly includes a Q&A with Robert Hartwig—past president of the Insurance Information Institute and current director of the Center for Risk and Uncertainty Management at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business—about issues ranging from the effects of tariffs on auto and homeowners’ insurance costs to fiscal and economic policy. Also in this issue, a recap of the P/C sessions from the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, a heads-up on the forthcoming P/C loss reserves practice note, and recent legislative and regulatory activity. (December 14, 2018)

The Health Practice Employee Benefits Committee and Individual and Small Group Market Committee submitted comments on the proposed rule regarding Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), that would create two new types of HRAs—Integrated HRAs and Excepted Benefit HRAs—which would allow employers to provide HRAs that could be used to pay for individual plan premiums and out-of-pocket health costs. (December 12, 2018)

The November Actuarial Update has more than 10 pages of coverage on this month’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, including write-ups of all the keynote and plenary addresses, the Academy presidential transition, a rundown of the informative breakout sessions, a two-page photo spread highlighting the networking and camaraderie attendees enjoyed at the event, and much more. Also noted in this issue, the Actuaries Institute of Australia launches its own climate index, in the spirit of the Academy co-sponsored Actuaries Climate Index®; the P/C Loss Reserve and Life and Health Valuation law manuals are available to order; and a “Professionalism Counts” column on “The ABC’s (and D) of CE.” (November 30, 2018)

The Academy urged Congress to continue efforts to address multiemployer system solvency issues after the congressional Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans reached today’s statutory deadline without coming to an agreement on proposed legislation. “Time is of the essence in addressing multiemployer system challenges, as the potential consequences of inaction only grow with time,” said Academy Vice President, Pension, Josh Shapiro. Read the Academy’s alert and news release. (November 29, 2018)