People continue to live longer and longer around the world (for an interesting discussion of how superannuation should respond, see Paul Keating on Cuffelinks), which is mostly good. But different parts of populations have quite different experiences of mortality improvement. The (UK) Institute of Actuaries publishes a regular longevity bulletin. TheContinue Reading
So far I haven’t managed to kill the entire world population… but I’m getting there. Plague Inc is a strategy game in which you “must bring about the end of human history by evolving a deadly, global Plague whilst adapting against everything humanity can do to defend itself.” It’s aContinue Reading
As if life and general insurance capitals changes weren’t enough, PHIAC has released an initial consultation paper on changes to health insurance standards. In this guest post, health actuaries David Torrance and Ben Ooi have more: PHIAC has released a Capital Standards Review Consultation Package with responses due by 1Continue Reading
There was a fairly impassioned article in the SMH today about how the Australian health care system has very definitely become a two-tier health care system. “the wealthy and privately insured get timely health care and the rest, unless they are critically ill, can wait.” Except, as I blogged recently,Continue Reading
Since Wednesday, Chatterboy has been in Royal North Shore Hospital being treated for pneumonia. On Friday, when he’d turned the corner, the doctors admitted to us that they had been quite worried about him on Thursday, when nothing seemed to be working, and he was lying there, listlessly, on oxygen,Continue Reading
We’ve been watching a depressing British TV show called Bodies – set in a hospital with an incompetent senior obstetrician. The storyline of the first series follows the various ways different doctors deal with the incompetence – from ignoring it, to trying to stop it happening subtly, to reporting itContinue Reading
I walked past an ad trying to find blood donors today. As a frustrated blood donor, it annoyed me. I used to be a vaguely regular blood donor. From the time that I turned 18 (and became eligible) to around 28, I would have given blood maybe once or twiceContinue Reading
After my previous post, and a few comments there, here’s some more detail on why I don’t think proper risk rated health insurance works particularly effectively for most people. (by the way, the US market, from what I understand, doesn’t have individual health insurance rating to any large extent; youContinue Reading
I’ve been pondering a mammoth post on health care for a while. I’m not sure if I’ve got it in me tonight. Or ever. So here’s a few thoughts. Mainly from my angle as an actuary who manages insurance companies for a living. Most places that try to privatize healthContinue Reading
I’d really like to write a thoughtful post about healthcare. I’m too tired, tonight, though. So I’ll just point you to a few US links. Stayin’ Alive has an excellent series on what health insurance is, and why it’s a misnomer to call it insurance. Half Changed World has aContinue Reading