The Platinum Public Option
The Platinum Public Option…it’s more than just a catchy slogan. It’s a solution to coordinate the political semantics and financial dynamics of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without...
A Hard Pill to Swallow: Appreciating the Mathematical Dynamics of the Affordable Care Act
The pivotal moment[2] in the 1999 science fiction action film The Matrix involves the central character having to choose between irrevocable binary options. He can elect to swallow...
Trust the Prophets, Not the Spin Doctors
In January 2019, Clemson defeated Alabama 44-16 in the College Football Playoff championship game. As a Clemson football fan, I was thrilled with the result. I was also surprised...
The Tip of the ACA Iceberg
Casual observers of a recent Congressional hearing that included Seema Verma as its only witness might have mistaken the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...
Another ACA Paradox: Lowering the Average Age Increases Consumer Premiums
There is a little secret (not anymore) among health actuaries that pricing age slopes are self-fulfilling. If the true cost of the oldest eligible age group in a population is five times the youngest...
Separating Politics from Policy
Each year around this time, we can gain tremendous insight from reading articles preceding the annual open enrollment period (11/1-12/15 in most states) in marketplaces of the...
An Actuary Looks at 50
It’s been twenty-five years since I began my daily routine of putting on a tie (really), driving a few miles, walking across a muggy south Florida parking lot to an airport-facing building...
The Lionfish in ACA Markets
I have done most of my scuba diving in the Carribean Sea and the Florida Keys. I can’t complain. The water is clear, the temperature is comfortable, and the fish are abundant. If you are not...
RBC in an ACA World: Determining an Optimal Surplus Range
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) brought new risks and volatility to the world of health insurance. The prospect of insuring a previously uninsured population...