Critical Point

What constitutes effective HR communication for Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Boomers today? In this episode of Critical Point, Heidi tenBroek, a Milliman employee communication consultant, and Jill Godschall discuss how generational differences, behavioral economics, and technology are driving change in the HR communications space. You can read the episode transcript on our website .

A cyberattack has the potential to disrupt the global economy, but using traditional underwriting and risk management approaches may leave insurers and businesses vulnerable to large financial losses. In this episode, Milliman’s Chris Harner and Chris Beck discuss how a cyberattack could create a scenario similar to 2008’s financial crisis, and the need for a new risk management paradigm that not...

Blockchain has the potential to influence - or disrupt – the insurance industry, but implementing any new technology comes with both benefits and drawbacks. In this episode of Critical Point – the third in our series on blockchain – Milliman consultants Shea Parkes and Anders Larson begin to look at real-world blockchain applications in the health insurance space and some of the compromises that h...

What is a critical point and why would we name Milliman’s podcast after this mathematical concept? In this episode, host Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson speaks with Milliman consultants Hans Leida and Doug Norris, who are both healthcare actuaries and math PhDs, about the concept of a critical point and how it relates to Milliman’s work. You can read the episode transcript on our website .

Using blockchain for insurance continues to grow and develop, but the technology is one with both supporters and detractors. In this episode of Critical Point – the second in our series on blockchain – Milliman consultants Shea Parkes and Anders Larson discuss hashing and public key cryptography. The two concepts are foundational to blockchain, and understanding their function is critical when thi...

Managing Puerto Rico’s Medicaid system after Hurricane Maria led to challenges not typically faced by most actuaries. In this episode of Critical Point, host Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson interviews Milliman consultant and Puerto Rican native José Carlo about his work with the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (Administración de Seguros de Salud) directly following the devastation of Hurricane...

Host Rebecca Driskill sits down with Milliman’s Stoddard Davenport and Joseph Boschert to discuss their latest research on opioid use in the United States. The conversation includes a discussion about why professionals in the field prefer the term opioid use disorder (OUD) instead of opioid addiction, and touches on the potential for OUD underdiagnoses, how advanced analytics can help predict the...

In this episode of Critical Point, host Lesley Pink catches up with Michael McCord of the MicroInsurance Centre at Milliman to talk about cow mortality, climate change, and some of the projects he’s helping spearhead across the globe. You can read the episode transcript on our website .

Trucking and trucking companies are not just big tanker trucks on the highway.  With the growth of online shopping, these companies are responsible for delivering everything from clothes to kitchen gadgets straight to your door. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Christine Fleming and Nina Plail discuss trucking insurance, specifically how insurtech is transforming claims management in...

In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman senior healthcare management consultant Susan Philip talks to host Lesley Pink about telehealth. Around for over 50 years, NASA developed the first form of telemedicine to monitor astronauts in space. Today, telehealth is being used to deliver healthcare in the U.S. to a population that might otherwise have difficulty accessing care. Susan Philip joins C...

In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman consultants Shea Parkes and Anders Larson provide an introductory look at blockchain for those listeners not already familiar with the technology. The first in a series of episodes on blockchain, Shea and Anders dig into blockchain basics (including what the technology actually is and how it relates to cryptocurrency) in order to set the scene for more i...

As healthcare costs continue to increase, the industry is looking for innovative ways to reduce spending. One recent structural change is to modify the way doctors are paid. Over the past few years, payers have begun switching from a fee-for-service model, in which doctors are paid by the volume of services provided, to alternative payment models (APMs), where the emphasis is put on the quality of...

Medicine is an imperfect science. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 30% of medical care in the U.S. is unnecessary care. Eliminating inefficient and unnecessary medical services improves overall healthcare efficiency while reducing costs. In this episode, Marcos Dachary and Dr. David Mirken of Milliman’s MedInsight Waste Calculator discuss a few areas in which we’re seeing waste i...