Spring 2024 Risk Mitigation syllabus changes

 

Risk Mitigation – The big change here was the removal of several papers from the syllabus:

One study note was added:

  • Restoring the Indifference Ideal – If It’s Not Adjusting for “Risk,” It’s Not “Risk Adjustment”
    • This is another paper that talks about a topic that is already covered in other papers: induced demand factors are too high, and Silver plans are currently being priced outside of the intent of how the ACA intended them to be
    • The paper does add a new idea in that these two issues basically offset each other, on average, in the risk transfer payment. However, it is a pure accident that they do offset each other, and it highlights that insurers are cherry picking the right risks (members) instead of being indifferent to the risks that they insure.

 

One study note was modified:

  • GHRM-103-24 – Flexible Accounts
    • This study note was trimmed down, and it no longer covers adverse selection

 

Two study notes and four chapters were removed from the syllabus.

  • The biggest change was the removal of the study note on reinsurance, GHRM-113-23
    • This is a major change to the pool of math questions that have been tested on this exam. I would not be surprised to see this topic come back to the syllabus on VR in the Fall.
  • A short study note about value based pharmacy care in Canada was removed from the syllabus, GHRM-108-23. This paper was not tested much in the past.
  • The Handbook of Employee Benefits textbook was removed (6 chapters from the Employee Benefit Strategy section)
    • However, 2 of these chapters (2 & 24) were migrated into a single study note (GHRM-115-24), so effectively only 4 chapters (1, 18, 25, & 32) were removed from the syllabus
    • This is also a pretty big change, as these chapters covered a lot of topics about EE benefits. Many candidates will probably be happy to no longer see questions on cafeteria plans and voluntary benefits.