Health

Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello presented at a “Medicare Solvency Projections and Potential Policy Solutions” webinar sponsored by the Alliance for Health Policy. She set the stage for the discussion by providing basic program information, covering Hospital Insurance (HI) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI), the projected depletion of the HI trust fund, and noted that Medicare’s sustainability challenges go beyond solvency.

The Health Solvency Subcommittee sent a comment letter in response to a request from the NAIC’s Health Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group to further analyze the impact of incorporating investment income into the existing underwriting risk factors within the health risk-based capital formula.  

The Health Practice Council submitted a comment letter to the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), on review of agency actions related to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, as put forward in a recent presidential executive order. The letter provides references to previous Academy comment letters to agencies regarding relevant proposed rules.

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee and the Active Benefits Subcommittee submitted comments to the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), on insurance and health plan coverage of COVID-19 testing, as put forward in a presidential executive order, Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats.

Academy President Tom Campbell sent a letter of recommendation to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Annette James, chairperson of the Academy’s Health Equity Work Group, as a candidate for appointment to the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force as put forward in a presidential executive order, Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery.

The Long-Term Care Reform Subcommittee's COVID-19 Work Group released their issue brief on COVID-19’s potential short-term and long-term impacts on long-term care insurance (LTCI), focusing on key actuarial and economic assumptions impacting standalone LTCI policies. Read the news release.

The Health Solvency Subcommittee sent a comment letter in response to a request from the NAIC’s Health Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group providing additional detail regarding the potential investment income adjustment factor for Health H2 Experience Fluctuation Risk.

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee and its Risk Sharing Subcommittee submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2022.

The Health Solvency Subcommittee submitted a comment letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Health Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group to provide analysis to incorporate investment income into the existing underwriting risk factors within the health risk-based capital formula.

On December 2, 2020, Cori Uccello, the Academy’s Senior Health Fellow, presented on behalf of the Academy’s Health Equity Work Group (HEWG) at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC’s) Special (EX) Committee on Race and Insurance, Workstream #5 meeting. Written comments by HEWG chairperson Annette James were also submitted to the special committee highlighting the HEWG’s efforts to facilitate solutions to address health disparities.

The Health Practice Council’s Health Equity Work Group  submitted comments to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) highlighting their efforts to facilitate solutions to address health disparities. 

The Health Practice Council’s Long-Term Care (LTC) Reform Subcommittee Task Force to Review ASOP No. 22 submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on the second exposure draft of the proposed revision of ASOP No. 22, Statements of Actuarial Opinion Based on Asset Adequacy Analysis for Life Insurance, Annuity, or Health Insurance Reserves and Other Liabilities.

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee sent comments to the Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), expressing concerns on the claims data updates finalized in the 2021 Actuarial Value (AV) Calculator. The comments are for consideration in preparing the draft 2022 AV Calculator.

Actuarial Memorandum Practice Note Work Group of the American Academy of Actuaries’ Health Practice Council released the Actuarial Memorandum Practice Note. The purpose of this practice note is to provide information that can be useful for appointed actuaries dealing with the challenges of producing an Actuarial Memorandum in support of the Actuarial Opinion filed as part of the Health Annual Statement Blank (often referred to as the Health Blank or the Orange Blank). However, the concepts covered in this practice note could be useful for other situations requiring documentation for health business.

The Health Practice International Committee (HPIC) released the International Health Care Funding Report. This report is the first iteration of a project is intended to be an illustration of international models of health care funding, and reflects the state of 36 health funding systems from around the world as of December 31, 2019. This report is a joint effort of volunteers of the American Academy of Actuaries Health Practice International Committee (HPIC), the International Actuarial Association Health Section (IAAHS), and the Society of Actuaries (SOA) International Section.