I have always viewed myself as a mathematician. As an undergraduate, I took more than half my credits in mathematics and statistics. The rest of my classes were a smattering of one of everything. That breadth has proved very valuable, since as a health care actuary I need to know a little about psychology, sociology, economics, government. … The list is endless.

My job is to predict the future! As a consulting actuary, I am usually called to determine how many people in a given population will develop the need for health care in a future time period (as long as up to 20 years), what kind of care they will receive, and how much that health care will cost.

I own an actuarial consulting firm, and personally consult with four kinds of clients. For insurance companies, I perform the function of an in-house actuary, assist in the conceptualization of health care insurance products, draft policy language, work with claims processing so that they pay claims according to the benefits provided, and research and model to put a price tag on the benefits (premium rate).

For large employers who provide health care benefits for their employees, I evaluate the benefit use, identify areas of misuse or abuse by the employees, and assist the employer in evaluation of and negotiation with its insurance carriers. For hospital chains and groups of physicians, I assist in determining the right fixed price to charge for packages of services to be marketed to HMOs and other insurance entities.