Costs of Hospital Benefits for Retired Employees [Discussion]

Mr. Latimer is to be congratulated on his presentation of a very interesting case study in the field of hospitalization-benefit cost estimating. This paper serves the unique function of permitting one to peer inside the actuary's mind as he develops cost assumptions from limited data--both as to the specific plan itself and as to other programs providing similar benefits--before he applies these assumptions to more or less standard actuarial formulas for computation purposes. It will, of course, be recognized that the title of the paper implies a far broader scope than is actually the case, since it deals with a single specific plan and not an analysis of the situation for various programs that would provide hospital benefits for retired persons. Nonetheless, certain of the analysis made in regard to the underlying assumptions is of significance in considering the broad general subject.