Health Practice Council Issue Brief Looks at 2017 Premium Drivers

A new issue brief released by the Individual and Small Group Markets Committee, Drivers of 2017 Health Insurance Premium Changes, provides an overview of the general factors underlying premium rate setting and highlights the major components driving premium changes for 2017 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “The Academy’s objective analysis provides the public and public policy makers with an in-depth and timely understanding of what’s behind changes in the proposed premium rates,” said Academy President Tom Wildsmith. Read the news release here. The issue brief received extensive media coverage; see “In the News,” below.

Professionalism Outreach

Wildsmith presented a professionalism session and delivered after-dinner remarks at Tuesday’s meeting of the Actuaries Club of Philadelphia. The session, “Ethical Challenges to the U.S. Actuarial Profession: Insights from the Academy” delved into the question of what it means to be a professional, the specific meaning of actuary as professional in the United States, and how the professionalism structure housed in the Academy serves to both qualify actuaries and guide them when facing ethical challenges. In his after-dinner remarks, Wildsmith discussed the origins of the professionalism structure at the Academy, focusing on how it developed in response to the needs for standards and institutions necessary to gain and sustain the public’s trust in the profession.

“This professionalism structure is essential to maintaining the public’s trust, but it’s not what makes you and me professionals,” Wildsmith said. “Professionalism is not just mechanical compliance with a checklist of technical rules; the essence of professionalism is our personal commitment to doing the right thing. The standards and institutions are tools that help us, both individually and collectively, to live up to that commitment.”

Nominate a Colleague for an Academy Service Award

It’s time to nominate a deserving colleague or respected mentor for an annual Academy award that recognizes his or her public service, or service to the actuarial profession and the Academy, as described below. The nominations deadline is July 8, and awards will be presented at the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., Nov. 3-4.

• The Robert J. Myers Public Service Award honors an actuary who made an exceptional contribution to the common good, specifically through a single noteworthy public service achievement or a career devoted to public service.

• The Jarvis Farley Service Award is a lifetime achievement award presented to an actuary whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession through a lifetime of service.

• The Outstanding Volunteerism Award honors Academy volunteers who have made a noteworthy volunteerism contribution in the last year that is above and beyond what is typically expected of an Academy volunteer.

Recently Released

• The May issue of HealthCheck covers the issue brief on 2017 premium drivers, the Risk Sharing Subcommittee’s issue paper on the ACA risk adjustment program, and legislative and regulatory updates, and highlights this fall’s Life and Health Qualifications Seminar.

Upcoming Events

• Lowest Rates Available Now for Life and Health Qualifications Seminar: Register today for the lowest rates to attend this year’s Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 13-17 in Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C., metro region). Seminar topics will include health insurance valuation; premium, loss, expense, and contingency reserves; risk-based capital; and professionalism. See why so many of your peers find this seminar the most succinct and effective way to acquire the required basic education and continuing education to sign the NAIC life and health annual statement actuarial opinions. It also serves as a basic education refresher or as a source of required continuing education for more experienced actuaries. Seating is limited to the first 100 registrants; click here to register.

• Registration Open for June 28 Big Data Professionalism Webinar: The Academy will host a professionalism webinar on Tuesday, June 28, from noon-1:30 p.m. EDT, on Big Data. The presenters—Academy President-Elect Bob Beuerlein; Ross Winkelman, a member of the Actuarial Standards Board; and Academy Senior Property/Casualty Fellow Jim MacGinnitie—will discuss the use of Big Data in the life, health, and P/C practice areas, and explore how actuaries can apply the Code of Professional Conduct, actuarial standards of practice, and other professionalism tools to issues that may arise when working with Big Data. Click here for information and to register.

Alerts

• The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. announced an interim final rule Thursday that will raise civil penalties for pension plan sponsors that fail to provide notices in compliance with the agency’s Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting requirements under ERISA Section 4071. Penalties will also be raised for some multiemployer plans that do not provide certain notices as required under ERISA Section 4302. The interim final rule appears in Friday’s Federal Register and will take effect Aug. 1. Read the alert here.

• The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Thursday, in an opinion in the U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell case, that the cost-sharing subsidy program under the ACA was not properly funded through the congressional appropriations process. The program will be allowed to continue pending an appeal by the Obama administration, which is expected to do so to either the federal court of appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court. Read the alert here.

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released an interim final rule to change special enrollment period requirements and allow more flexibility to consumer operated and oriented plans to obtain access to private capital to stabilize those plans. Read the alert here.

• How to Subscribe to Member Alerts: Subscribers to the Academy’s alerts are notified by email when a new alert is posted in their area(s) of interest. The alerts are available in five areas of focus: casualty, health, life, pension, and cross-practice issues. Academy members may subscribe to any or all of them free of charge as a member service after signing in to the member section of the website.

Tell Us About Your Experience With the Academy’s Website

• The Academy is interested in finding out more about how members use our website, actuary.org. Your responses will help us to ensure that we continue to deliver the content you need in a manner you find useful. If you haven’t done so already, please take a few minutes and complete the survey now.

In the News

• A nationally syndicated CNN Money article illustrates one way to use the new Academy/SOA Actuaries Longevity Illustrator in making critical retirement planning decisions such as when to start taking Social Security retirement benefits. The columnist uses the Illustrator to determine the likelihood of outliving a breakeven age at which claiming benefits early and investing them becomes disadvantageous compared to starting at normal retirement age. The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Tribune, and MSN Money are some of the other major outlets that have reported on the longevity illustrator’s applications.

• Immediately following its release this week, the Academy’s issue brief Drivers of 2017 Health Insurance Premium Changes became a major topic of discussion in health and financial news stories nationwide. Initial reports and analysis can be read in The Fiscal Times, Morning Consult, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, Becker’s Hospital Review, Fierce Health Payer, and subscriber-only stories in Bloomberg BNA and Politico Pro Healthcare.

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