Description: Discussion of how to mature value-based contracts between health insurers and provider organizations to improve population health and financial sustainability. Centers around contract parameter consistency, revenue predictability and risk assessment. Intended audience are health plan and ACO actuaries and leaders. Authors are writing from the provider perspective in value-based contracts.

Description: The 2024 Actuarial Teaching Conference (ATC) provided an engaging platform for actuarial educators to explore current trends and challenges in the field. Organized by a diverse planning committee, the conference introduced new interactive formats, including roundtable discussions that encouraged in-depth dialogue on key topics such as artificial intelligence, student behavior, and experiential learning. One of the major highlights was the strategic focus on networking, with efforts made to facilitate connections before, during, and after the event through digital platforms. Challenges such as selecting diverse yet cohesive presentation topics and scheduling concurrent sessions were effectively addressed by aligning themes with participants' interests. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding the innovative roundtable format, which fostered meaningful conversations and idea exchange. The success of this conference was attributed to meticulous planning, adaptability, and a commitment to innovation, setting a high standard for future ATCs.

Description: Details on the Retirement Section Council and the direction we're moving for our members.

Description: It highlights key initiatives and leadership changes within the SOA Education and Research (E&R) Section in year 2025.

Description: This article starts with the increasing attention that FP&A receives due to the implementation of new financial regimes and emphasizes the collaborative nature of FP&A. It then describes the roles that actuaries play in FP&A, the new demands for actuaries that we are observing, and suggests some best practices that we are seeing across the clients. This article targets to point out the new demands from FP&A on actuaries and provide some advice on how actuaries can do to meet these demands.

Description: Expanding Horizons recently had the opportunity to interview Wenjun Zhu, the winner of the Society of Actuaries’ (SOA’s) third Actuarial Science Early Career Award.

Description: The incoming E&R chair for the coming year reflects on past accomplishments of the E&R council, acknowledges with thanks contributors, and looks forward to continuation in the coming year.

Description: Review of non public options to finance care including personal savings, revers mortgages, family care and private insurance.

Description: Description of the mathematics involved when looking at low probability events within a company from the perspective of the C-Suite. The accumulation of small probability events leads to a much higher probability of at least one of them happening in a given period.

Description: Chairperson description of current MaD section activity and upcoming webcasts and other emerging section content