American Academy of Actuaries and Minimum Loss Ratios

[Indy Coug]

http://www.actuary.org/pdf/health/loss_feb10.pdf

Here's a snapshot of one of the things being kicked around with healthcare reform and what the potential impact might be.

[DU Ute]

This has my vote for the Most Uninteresting Thread Title CUFie.

[Indy Coug]

This has my vote for the Most Uninteresting Thread Title CUFie.

I place my faith in the power of morbid curiosity.






P.S. For the uninitiated, "morbidity" is the term used to measure the frequency of health claims, so this is a really bad pun.

[Moliere]

I'm currently one hour into a three hour meeting with our actuaries. Only four hours left to go.

[Indy Coug]

I'm currently one hour into a three hour meeting with our actuaries. Only four hours left to go.

7 hour meeting with actuaries? What in the world are you up to?

[Moliere]

7 hour meeting with actuaries? What in the world are you up to?

It was only a 3 hour meeting (there was a joke in my post).

It was our annual meeting with the actuaries to discuss previous year results and this years outlook.

[Indy Coug]

It was only a 3 hour meeting (there was a joke in my post).

It was our annual meeting with the actuaries to discuss previous year results and this years outlook.

Yeah, obviously I was browsing a little too quickly. What kind of insurance biz are you in?

[Indy Coug]

Interesting article on the impact of ObamaCare on loss ratios and healthcare premium pricing.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/25/news/companies/medical_loss_ratio/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin

[Moliere]

Interesting article on the impact of ObamaCare on loss ratios and healthcare premium pricing.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/25/news...n_bin&hpt=Sbin

"The easiest way to have a high medical loss ratio is to let your medical costs soar," Laszewski said. "That's the simplest way for insurers to balance out high administrative costs. It's like chasing your tail -- completely counterproductive."

Another problem with regulating medical loss ratios, he added, is that insurers are discouraged from investing in administrative services -- like information technology and other medical management systems -- that could ultimately save consumers money.

When I read a lot of summaries of the health bill I thought about the impact on administration of the loss ratios. However, I only thought about the administrative cost control side in that I figured most insurances companies would have to run very lean operations to meet the ratio limits. I never thougth about the other way to meet the ratio, which would be to let the medical costs soar, however I think that is less likely to happen since that scenario would prompt more regulation in the form of medical cost controls.

[All-American]

This:

"If you look at health reform as a three-legged stool addressing access, cost and quality, all three things have to be addressed," he said. "Reforming all three things, and not just access, will bring down premiums."