Cathy focuses primarily on health insurance and managed care consulting. Her clients include HMOs, commercial insurers, provider-led insurers, Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans, and healthcare providers. Cathy also works with Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Cathy’s experience includes assisting clients with pricing, benefit plan design, Medicare Advantage bid development, risk analysis, and claim liability estimates. She helps clients with reimbursement and incentive system development, including capitation and pay for performance. Cathy also assists clients with their regulatory filings and experience analysis.
Cathy's recent consulting assignments have included the following:
Developing Medicare Advantage and Part D bids for numerous bids in multiple states, including Dual (D-SNPs) and Institutional (I-SNPs) special needs plans
Providing actuarial support to a startup company for licensing, pricing, reserving, and financial projections
Assisting a MAPD plan with developing new strategies to maximize enrollment while managing the inherent risks in the population
Preparing commercial regulatory rate filings for both ACA and non-ACA products, including individual, small group, and large group
Providing actuarial support to a Medicaid managed long term services and support (MTLSS) plan
Publications and Presentations
Cathy is a frequent speaker at Society of Actuaries, American Academy of Actuaries, and other professional and industry meetings. She has also published a number of papers and articles on various healthcare topics.
Professional Designations
Fellow, Society of Actuaries
Member, American Academy of Actuaries
Education
B Commerce, University College Galway, Galway, Ireland
MBA, Rutgers Business School Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Affiliations
Cathy is a long-time volunteer with the American Academy of Actuaries. She is chairperson of the Academy’s Medicare subcommittee and former American Academy of Actuaries Vice President, Health and Board member.
30 November 2020 - by Catherine M. Murphy-Barron, Eric A. Buzby
Milliman analyzed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports to identify Medicare Advantage plans that are using new benefit flexibility in 2021.
13 November 2020 - by Catherine M. Murphy-Barron, Doug Norris, Daniel Perlman
As chief financial officers and actuaries attempt to determine the pandemic’s impact on year-end financial statements, this article describes five issues that require additional attention.
15 October 2020 - by Catherine M. Murphy-Barron, Bruce S. Pyenson, Christine Ferro, Matthew Emery
To better understand the increasing role of Medicare Advantage for Medicare beneficiaries, this report looks at similarities and differences among enrollees in a Medicare Advantage plan and those in a Medicare fee-for-service plan across several years.
06 April 2020 - by Eric A. Buzby, Catherine M. Murphy-Barron
As end-stage renal disease beneficiaries become a larger share of a Medicare Advantage plan’s total enrollment, there may be unintended revenue and cost consequences for the plan.
06 April 2020 - by Catherine M. Murphy-Barron, Eric A. Buzby
Supplemental benefits have been an important differentiator among Medicare Advantage plans since the program’s inception, allowing prospective members to identify plans that offer benefits specific to their needs.
