2018 President-Elect Candidate
Roy Goldman, PhD, FSA 1980, MAAA, CERA
Retired
Jacksonville Beach, FL
Election Message
I am honored and excited to be an endorsed nominee. My background as CFO and/or Chief Actuary of major insurers and health plans plus my long history as a volunteer in key areas of the SOA make me highly qualified to serve the SOA as a leader and ambassador. I have both the time and energy to commit to you and the SOA over the next three years.
After enjoying a few years as a university professor with a Ph.D. in mathematics, I discovered the actuarial profession. It was a perfect career choice for me. It is important that the actuarial profession remain a highly respected and highly influential career. It is to that end that I will dedicate myself, and why I am asking for your vote in this year’s election.
Leadership:
As a CFO and Chief Actuary I’ve been responsible for developing strategy, reporting to boards, and designing products that provide needed protection to the general public. Equally important as growing the business was creating opportunities for increased engagement, learning, and growth for my staff.
I’ve been a leader in several areas of healthcare such as:
- designing mutually beneficial agreements with providers to improve quality and lower costs and
- working with the Academy and NAIC to create regulations for implementing the Affordable Care Act; for example, incorporating the principles of credibility in calculating medical expense ratios
As a 30-year volunteer in education and examination, I not only served as General Chair of E&E, but also served on committees that
- created and implemented ideas such as a Fellowship Admissions Course, intensive seminars, credit for research papers, and modules for the Group and Health track
- developed the Investment and Finance tracks,
- introduced new concepts such as “minimum adequate knowledge,” training for item writers, and the re-use of exam questions to measure exam difficulty, and
- authored a study note on disability income that won an award for the best paper in employee benefits and was published in the Transactions and Group Insurance
These opportunities have given me the experience of working with a diverse group of professionals. I realize that all board members are volunteers, and that win-win resolutions are best accomplished through a collegial and collaborative approach. During my presidency, views of all members will be respected in a way that encourages participation and hard work and produces a clear, supportable decision.
Ambassadorship:
I have been an ambassador for the SOA my entire career. During the debates on the Affordable Care Act, the SOA asked me to interview with Time Magazine and HBO’s VOX news. They circulated Op-Ed pieces I wrote on healthcare policy. During my first three years on the Congressional Budget Office’s Health Advisory Panel, I was the only actuary and one of two health plan representatives among a distinguished group of health care economists, policy makers, and pundits. When I was hired by two health plans as their CFO neither had any credentialed actuaries on staff. For 13 years I made quarterly presentations to the boards of these companies as the only actuary in the room. Indeed, in my whole career I was always the lead actuary and/or financial person in the company or business unit. One learns to develop relationships fast and to prove one’s competence quickly!
Vision:
The 2017-2021 Strategic Plan established eleven goals to move us toward our vision of being “highly sought-after professionals who develop and communicate solutions for complex financial issues.” As President my focus will be on making progress on these goals, but I will remain flexible to encourage the Board to switch gears and direction as changes in the environment dictate.
One cannot predict the specific issues that will come before the Leadership Team and the Board over the next three years. But I believe the SOA must always:
- Incorporate new methods and technology in our work.
- Deliver education in all actuarial specialties to both new and seasoned actuaries that is rigorous and relevant.
- Grow our global perspective. The more that SOA standards are accepted internationally, the stronger our actuarial brand will be.
- Publish research and guidance on a timely basis on issues that involve actuarial areas of practice.
- Continue to improve cooperation among the five actuarial organizations in the U.S.
- Create opportunities that encourage greater engagement by all segments of our membership, from those under age 40 to those who are retired.
Q&A Interview
Brief description of current work
After retiring from Humana in 2015 as Chief Actuary, I have remained active in the actuarial field. My current activities include:
SOA Board of Directors-committees:
- Finance (3 yrs.)
- Governance and Policy (2 yrs.)
- Admissions (2 yrs.), currently Chair
- Risk (1 yr.)
The Actuarial Foundation Board of Trustees-committees:
- Education (3 yrs.)
- Audit (3 yrs.)
- Sponsor of Modeling the Future Competition for high school students
Research and Health Policy
- “The Future of the U.S. Healthcare System,” Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, Spring 2018
- “Bayes’ Gift,” Contingencies, May/June 2017 followed by Podcast
- Speaker at Evolution of the Health Actuary session at Health Meeting, June 2017
- Interviewed by Time magazine and HBO’s Vox News on ACA legislation
- Wrote and reviewed election and issue briefs on health topics for the Academy
Rutgers University - help guide and support their Actuarial Science program
Primary Area of Practice
Health
Other areas of Interest: Education and Research, Predictive Analytics, Enterprise Risk, Investments
Bio
Executive Positions:
Vice President and Chief Actuary of Humana (2010-June, 2015)
- Revenue of $50 billion
- Exercised oversight of actuarial functions and risk analyses in all of Humana’s life and health businesses.
- Grew the Actuarial Professional Development Program to prepare all actuaries and their non-credentialed associates for managerial and executive roles
CFO of Geisinger Insurance Operations (2006-2010), one of the core businesses of Geisinger Health System, an integrated health system located in Danville, Pennsylvania.
- Responsible for financial, actuarial, underwriting, and quarterly reporting to the Board.
- Played a key role in establishing new initiatives to improve the quality and efficiency of the delivery of health care such as Medical Home and ProvenCare - a quality guarantee.
CFO of Mercy Health Plans (1997-2006) in St. Louis. As part of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, the Plans operated in MO, IL, AR, and TX.
- In addition to financial and strategic roles and quarterly Board reports, responsibility included provider contracting; systems coordination; and network capitation
SVP/CFO/Chief Actuary for Prudential Insurance Company’s Group Business Unit (1990-1997)
- Provided direction and oversight nationwide for all strategic, financial, and capital functions for all products including managed care, large and small group insurance, Medicare Supplement, long-term care, dental, life insurance, long-term disability, and credit insurance operations
- During this period Prudential was considered the largest healthcare carrier
Volunteer Activities and Awards:
- Elected to SOA Board of Directors (Oct. 2015-present)
- Elected to Board of Trustees of The Actuarial Foundation (June, 2015- present)
- Appointed to the Health Advisory Panel for the Congressional Budget Office (Sept 2011-March 2018)
- Helped start the Health Care Cost Institute (Sept. 2011)
- Active volunteer and leader for the Society of Actuaries in education, research, health, and risk analysis (1980-2009) and (2012-2013); for example:
- General Chairperson over all Education and Examination committees (1993-94). Began as a question writer for life contingencies, interest theory, and risk theory in 1980 and rose through the exam structure
- Board of Governors’ Task Force on Education (1994-1995)
- Chaired the 2007 Redesign for Fellowship exams in the group and health practice areas (2003-2008)
- Enterprise Risk Management exam committee (2012-2013)
- Named the 2004 Financial Executive of the Year for the Heartland Region by the Institute of Management Accountants and Robert Half International.
- Won William Mercer’s Ronald L. Hill award for the best paper on Employee Benefits, (1990)]
- Spoke at Society of Actuaries meetings – most recently on Evolution of the Health Actuary (2017), Integrated Health Care (2010), and Medical Homes (2007). Led Chief Actuary roundtables at several SOA meetings, most recently in 2017 on Actuary of the Future. Gave Webcast on Medical Home and Proven Care (2009).
- Represent Geisinger on the board of local Chamber of Commerce (2009-2010)
- Appointed to Missouri Insurance Director’s Industry Task Force (2002-2006)
- Served as officer of St. Louis World Affairs Council (1999-2006)
- Elected (twice) to Randolph Township, N. J. School Board (1993-1997)
Insurance Publications:
- “The Future of the U.S. Healthcare System – Part 1,” The Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, Spring 2018
- “Bayes’ Gift,” Contingencies, May/June 2017, pp. 44-49 [There’s also a podcast on SOA web site]
- “Value and the Medical Home: Effects of Transformed Primary Care,” The American Journal of Managed Care, Vol. 16, No. 8, (Aug., 2010), pp. 607-614. Co-author with several others.
- “New Concepts for Reducing Costs and Increasing Quality,” Health Watch, Society of Actuaries, Jan. 2008.
- “Estimating Claim Costs for Disability benefits,” Group Insurance, ACTEX Publications, Winsted, CT (1992), pp. 367-394.
- “Pricing and Underwriting Group Disability Income Coverages,” Transactions of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. XLII (1990), pp. 171-230.
Teaching Positions:
- Assistant Professor, Rutgers University (1975-1977)
- Assistant Professor, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil (1974-1975)
Academic Background:
- Rutgers University: Ph.D. in Mathematics (1974)
- Franklin and Marshall College: B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, Cum Laude, Honors in Mathematics (1969)
- Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (1980)
- Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (1981)
- Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (2009)