Public Policy Issue Briefs

A Guide to the Use of Stochastic Models in Analyzing Social Security

Social Security Committee issue brief on the use of stochastic models in analyzing Social Security.
(October 1, 2005)

Disease Management Programs: What’s the Cost?

Disease Management Work Group issue brief providing policymakers and the public with a basic background on the financial evaluation of disease management programs and to highlight some of the analytical challenges. (April 27, 2005)

FAQs on AHPs: Frequently Asked Questions on Association Health Plans

Association Health Plans Work Group issue brief examining some common questions about Association Health Plans. The issue brief also addresses some possible unintended consequences and related concerns that could arise if the creation of AHPs is not approached carefully. (March 1, 2005)

Medicare: Next Steps

Senior Health Fellow issue brief outlining areas in which action, beyond the addition of the Medicare Part D program, could be taken to reform the Medicare program, including addressing long- term financing problems, balancing access to care while avoiding unnecessary utilization, private sector competition strategies, and addressing the insurance needs of individuals age 55 to 64. (February 1, 2005)

Medical Reinsurance: Considerations for Designing a Government- Sponsored Program

Medical Reinsurance Work Group issue brief providing a primer on the current commercial medical reinsurance market. The issue brief also outlines some of the issues policymakers should consider when designing and implementing a government-sponsored medical reinsurance program. (January 31, 2005)

Principles of Pension Funding Reform for Multiemployer Plans

Multiemployer Plans Task Force issue brief identifying several key principles of pension funding reform for multiemployer pension plans. (January 3, 2005)

Mental Health Parity: Often Separate, Usually Unequal

Mental Health Parity Work Group original issue brief providing a description of mental health parity requirements and how group insurance plans have responded to those requirements. (December 1, 2004)

Medicare Modernization Act: Financial Issues for State Medicaid Programs

Medicaid Work Group issue brief identifying several provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 that may have an impact on state Medicaid budgets. (June 30, 2004)

Actuarial Opinions in Property/Casualty Insurance

The Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting's Issue Brief on Statements of Actuarial Opinion in Property/Casualty Insurance (first published December 2003; reformatted March 2004). (March 31, 2004)

Election 2004: A Guide to Analyzing the Issues - The Questions Candidates Should Answer about...Social Security Reform

Social Insurance Committee 2004 election guide on "The Questions Candidates Should Answer About ... Social Security Reform." (March 1, 2004)

Social Adequacy and Individual Equity in Social Security

Social Security Committee issue brief examining social adequacy and individual equity in Social Security (updates a 1998 issue brief.) (January 1, 2004)

Social Security Individual Accounts: Design Questions

Social Insurance Committee issue brief that examines the issues that policymakers would need to address if they were to create an individual account program for Social Security. (October 1, 2003)

Health Coverage Issues: The Uninsured and the Insured

Uninsured Subgroup issue brief providing insights on the fundamental questions facing policy-makers and health coverage sponsors, such as: What is health insurance coverage? What are ways to provide health care for the uninsured? What are the roles of individuals, employers, and government in health care financing? (September 30, 2003)

What’s Whipsaw? Why is it a Problem?

Pension Committee issue brief examining whipsaw calculations for pension plans. (February 3, 2003)

DB-K Plus: A Defined Benefit Plan With 401(k) Features

Pension Committee issue brief examining defined benefit (DB) plans with 401(k) features. (January 1, 2003)

Medical Privacy in the Workers' Compensation System

Workers' Compensation Subcommittee issue brief addressing medical privacy in the workers' compensation system. (August 1, 2002)

Applying the Defined Contribution Concept to Medicare: A Primer

Medicare Steering Committee issue brief providing a primer on two approaches to reforming Medicare - should it retain its current defined benefit approach (similar to that used by traditional retirement plans) or should it be changed to a defined contribution approach (similar to that used by 401(k) retirement plans)? (July 1, 2002)

Understanding Defined Contribution Health Plans

Defined Contribution Health Plan Work Group issue brief providing an overview of the defined contribution approach to health coverage. After a brief discussion of trends in health plan approaches and the factors contributing to the emergence of defined contribution health plans, the issue brief describes the characteristics and types of defined contribution health plans. (June 3, 2002)

The Bottom Line on Understanding Defined Contribution Health Plans

Executive summary of the issue brief on understanding defined contribution health plans. (June 1, 2002)

The Use of Genetic Information in Disability Income and Long-Term Care Insurance

Task Force on Genetic Testing Issues issue brief describing the nature of disability income and long-term care insurance and discussing, from the perspectives of both consumers and insurers, the implications of the newly emerging genetic technologies for these products. Strategies to effectively address this emerging dilemma of how best to respond to public concerns about the possible misuse of genetic information, while preserving the viability of the voluntary, individual disability income and long-term care insurance markets, are also explored. (April 30, 2002)