This Week, February 11 - 15, 2013

Announcements

• Actuaries identify opportunities to refocus on sustainability reforms, not just budget cuts: Read [2] what the Academy hoped to hear in Tuesday’s State of the Union address. See [3] our live tweets during the speech on our Twitter page.
• The Academy ran a special tribute [4] (pg. 24) in The Hill thanking retired chief Medicare actuary Rick Foster for his commitment to public service and for preserving the availability of objective information for the nation’s policymakers, exemplifying actuarial professionalism.

Website: New Postings

• The Casualty, Life, Health, and Professionalism councils submitted comments [5] to the NAIC’s Joint Qualified Actuary Subgroup on the subgroup’s two charges related to the definition of a “qualified actuary” and a process to address “unprofessional” actuarial work.
• The C1 Work Group provided comments [6] to the NAIC’s Valuation of Securities Task Force on the SVO Staff Recalibration Project.

Member Alerts

• Health Insurance Issues: The Large Group Medical Business Practice Note Work Group has released for exposure an update [7] of the 1995 practice note regarding large group medical business. Comments are due March 24, 2013. Log in [8] to read the full alert. 

Upcoming Events

• Don’t miss next week’s free webinar (Feb. 21): The Relationship Between Medicare and Private Insurance Provider Payment Rates. Presenters will discuss the relationship between Medicare provider payment rates and those for private insurance. This information is important for understanding how any changes in Medicare provider payment rates could affect private plans. Projecting the effects of moving Medicare to a premium support program also requires consideration of this key issue. Register today [9]!
• Save the date, March 28, for the next Professionalism webinar on Enterprise Risk Management and standards actuaries need to follow. Stay tuned for more information!

Recent Events

• The Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society presented a webinar focused on the risk of material adverse deviation disclosure required of appointed actuaries providing statements of actuarial opinion (SAOs) on property/casualty loss and loss adjustment expense reserves in the United States. Presenter Tom Ghezzi covered materiality considerations and risk assessment and provided sample language for SAOs.

Academy in the News

• A letter [10] from three North Carolina representatives to its state House of Representatives and an IndyWeek.com Op-Ed [11] cited the Academy’s Medicaid decision brief, “Implications of Medicaid Expansion Decisions on Private Coverage [12].”
• AledoTimesRecord.com’s “State of Illinois’ record of shorting pensions goes back decades [13],” references the Academy’s brief, “The 80% Pension Funding Standard Myth [14].”

Recently Released Publications

• February HealthCheck: Read [15]about recent health care reform activities.

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