Actuaries typically get little attention.
But as they crunch the numbers for their employers regarding the Affordable Care Act, their calculations are feeding a roaring national debate over insurance premiums.
Insurance premiums are widely considered as a gauge of the success of President Obama’s health care law.
Insurers in most states have submitted their rates for 2017, and many of them are seeking double-digit increases. State officials are still considering the requests, but the Obama Administration says those rates are often reduced significantly, and ACA subsidies will help to keep them low.
For example, the Geisinger Health Plan requested a 40% rate increase. Geisinger’s chief actuary, Kurt J. Wrobel, says the rates are influenced by new federal rules, recent losses and an ever-changing marketplace.
