The role of actuaries within the health sector varies considerably from one country to another, due to differences in the local evolution of health systems and the funding models for health services.
There has historically been little involvement of actuaries in the UK's health sector but the skillset of actuaries is highly relevant to many of the challenges being faced within the NHS today, such as with moves towards embedding population health management approaches and the development of Integrated Care Systems in England. Additionally there is growing interest in new and expanding roles that IFoA members could play in the health sector around the world.
The webinar will present an overview of the latest work of two IFoA Working Parties that cover the UK and global perspectives. It will include the outputs and preliminary findings from a member survey and from interviews with key stakeholders. It will then describe case studies in which actuaries have pioneered their skills to address challenges in the UK and in Singapore.
Speakers
Alpesh Shah, Partner, PwC
Alpesh is a Partner in PwC’s Actuarial Risk & Modelling Practice and leads their public sector actuarial and risk advisory work in the health sector. He has over 22 years of experience working with a variety of NHS and private sector health organisations and central government departments. Alpesh leads a team who has developed a range of analytical solutions for NHS providers, commissioners, and related organisations. His focus is on supporting clients understand the longer-term demand challenges they face, typically driven by demographic and service delivery changes with a particular focus on population health management analytics. He also leads a range of assurance analytics work for Providers improving the accuracy of activity coding and providing assurance around the baseline activity and associated funding which underpins prevailing new models of care (STP’s, ACO arrangements, etc).
Siao Wearn Leong, Senior Health Actuary, National University Health System
Siao Wearn is a senior health actuary with over 20 years of experience in reinsurance and consulting in the UK, China and Southeast Asia, specializing in strategy development, pricing and health insurance portfolio management. She currently works for the National University Health System in health care financing and program management for the Health District, a whole-of-government initiative to testbed interventions for healthy and purposeful longevity in Singapore. She graduated with a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard in 2020 and has been a Fellow of the IFOA since 2002.
David Beddows, Senior Actuary, Swiss Re
David is a Senior Life and Health Pricing Actuary within Swiss Re and has 16 years of experience working in and leading actuarial teams in life insurance and the health sector, both in the UK and internationally. He analyses and models mortality, morbidity and medical expenses for at-risk and populations across European countries. He has previously designed and led workstreams within an NHS development programme which showcased how actuarial techniques can support Population Health Management objectives and inform financial arrangements within integrated care systems in England’s NHS. David is a member of the IFoA’s Health and Care Research Sub-committee.
James Robinson, PhD, Aon
James Robinson has traditionally provided analytics to support the design and placement of reinsurance solutions for clients, with 17 years’ experience in the field, but since January of 2020 he has had a special focus on modelling COVID-19. The model developed is highly diagnostic and by tracking the progression of the spread of the virus, and the impact on healthcare systems, across 50 countries and 16 US states, we have gained early insights on aspects of the virus which later become part of the scientific consensus. The model provided accurate short-term projections and test the range of possibilities for longer-term scenarios, including projections for the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. James has a BSc in Chemistry with Business Studies and a PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry, both from the University of Birmingham in the UK.
David McDwyer, Lead Data Scientist, NHS Cheshire CCG
David is a Qualified Health & Care Actuary who transitioned from a Consultancy background to working in the NHS for Cheshire CCG at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His day to day role is varied but primarily involves producing analyses and tools that help direct funding and interventions in a way that best meets the needs of the population of Cheshire. He currently spends a significant portion of time working with GPs and other system stakeholders to develop locally available machine learning models. These help stratify the population into different risk cohorts and enable targeted interactions through weekly MDT reviews within practices.
Rebecca Sloan, Consultant, LCP
Rebecca is both a qualified actuary and doctor; prior to joining LCP she was an anaesthetic trainee and junior doctor for four years. She has been a member of the pensions actuarial department since 2017 and more recently the health analytics team.
In pensions actuarial, Rebecca helps a range of trustee and corporate clients run their pension schemes. She has experience in using a variety of actuarial modelling techniques to help clients manage and understand their pension risk, while focusing on their long-term objectives.
As a member of the health analytics team, Rebecca uses actuarial techniques and her clinical background to help decision makers across the health sector, using real-world evidence and data analytics to provide insights into the health of the population.