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Recent Academy Activity, January 19-23, 2015

Academy Comments Ahead of State of the Union

The Academy issued a news release Tuesday calling on the president and the 114th Congress to focus on addressing the needs of an aging America, including retirement security and lifetime income, health care and long-term care for the elderly, and public programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The release received widespread press coverage.

Alerts

  • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently published the final 2016 Actuarial Value (AV) Calculator and Methodology. This version of the calculator is applicable only for 2016 plans, and not 2015 plans. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Health Alerts.”

Upcoming Events—Representing the U.S. Profession Globally

  • Join us on Feb. 18 for “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: Israel and the Netherlands,” the first webinar in a new series on international drivers of health care costs. This session will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the successes and challenges that Israel and the Netherlands have experienced as they’ve worked to identify and address particular cost drivers. Dr. Tuvia Horev of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Rian De Jonge of the Academy’s Health Practice International Task Force will provide a 90-minute examination and analysis of both countries’ health care systems, with a focus on health care cost trends.

News from the Actuarial Standards Board

  • The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) has approved an exposure draft of a proposed actuarial standard of practice (ASOP) titled “Determining Minimum Value and Actuarial Value under the Affordable Care Act.” The ASOP will apply to actuaries performing professional services with respect to calculating actuarial values and testing minimum value requirements in accordance with the Affordable Care Act and related regulations, specifically for purposes of (1) categorizing individual and small group health insurance plans into metal levels; (2) testing whether large employer-sponsored health insurance plans meet the federal minimum value requirements; or (3) making any required certifications. The comment deadline for the exposure draft, which can be viewed here, is May 1.

Reminder

  • Membership dues are due Jan. 1 every year. Click here to pay online. Log in now to pay your dues, print your invoice, or to update your profile.

Public Policy Activities

  • The Life Practice Council sent its Legislation-in-Brief on the standard valuation law and principle-based reserves to the insurance commissioners and insurance committee chairs of the 30 states that have not yet adopted the law. The paper notes that the council “supports the adoption of the revisions to the National Association of Commissioners model Standard Valuation Law that will be considered by states in upcoming legislative sessions. These revisions introduce a new framework for calculating life insurance policy reserves, which are in the best interests of consumers, the insurance industry, and regulators.”
  • Janet Barr, former chairperson of the Academy’s Social Security Committee, submitted responses to follow-up questions to her testimony at a U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing on “Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women?” Video of the hearing and Barr’s original written testimony are available on the Academy’s website.
  • The Rate Review Practice Note Work Group’s letter to the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) suggests recommendations for modifying the Unified Rate Review Template and Actuarial Memorandum instructions in order to provide further clarification on a number of issues affecting the rate review process.

Academy in the News

  • A feature story in BenefitsPro highlighted the Academy’s call for federal action on aging and retirement income issues. The story quotes Academy President Mary D. Miller and Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst, both of whom stressed the need for the administration and Congress to examine the impact of the aging of the U.S. population on systems, programs, and policies. Additional stories on the Academy’s State of the Union news release ran in PoliticoPro (subscriber-only), Benefits and Pensions Monitor, Open Retirement, Alliance For Retirement Income Adequacy, lifehealth.com, and the (subscriber-only) Retirement Income Journal.
  • A MarketWatch story on the Academy’s Retirement for the AGES assessments focused on the U.S.A. Retirement Funds Act, a bill introduced last year by then-Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), calling the legislation “promising” while recognizing that a new level of commitment will be needed for enactment to occur. “Sen. Harkin worked hard on this bill, but getting anything through the last Congress was a real challenge,” said Fuerst, who noted that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) may introduce the bill in the 114th Congress. The story was also published by Morningstar News.

A Note on Our Publications

  • Academy publications are designed to serve you. With that in mind, we’re gauging interest in making available printed copies of our publications. If you would find such an offering valuable, please email editor@actuary.org with your thoughts. And thank you for reading.

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