
Publications
Read their latest work
Article
4 pending FDA approvals payers, PBMs, and market access teams should be preparing for now
13 May 2026 - by Michelle (Klein) Robb, Melanie K. Kuester, Kali Schweitzer, Mark F. Gruenhaupt
We review drugs awaiting approval that have the potential to change current treatment paradigms, displace current therapies, or create new spending categories.
Article
Healthcare utilization and costs associated with obesity treatment in a commercial self-insured population
23 December 2025 - by Melanie K. Kuester, Cameron Urick, Jessica Naber, Chad Barker
This paper quantifies healthcare utilization metrics for individuals using obesity-related treatments and explores the impact of obesity management from an employer viewpoint.
Article
Employee retention for subscribers with and without an obesity diagnosis
24 November 2025 - by Jessica Naber, Melanie K. Kuester, Lukasz Chmura, Carlos Vallarino, Jennifer Ward, Haijun Tian, Jiayin Xue
This study, commissioned by Eli Lilly, describes the retention of employees with and without diagnosed obesity who are employed by self-insured employers.
Article
Understanding barriers to access for sickle cell disease therapies
11 June 2025 - by Donna Wix, Michelle (Klein) Robb, Barbara R. Collier, Melanie K. Kuester
Gene therapies for sickle cell disease show promise, but broad access requires more collaboration among manufacturers, payers, and healthcare systems.
Article
Employee retention trends in relation to obesity diagnosis: A claims-based analysis of self-insured employer health plans
12 March 2025 - by Melanie K. Kuester, Jessica Naber, Lukasz Chmura
This study sought to determine whether a relationship between obesity and employee retention exists, providing insights into the duration that employees with obesity remain with their employers.
Article
Critical Point episode 58: How can Medicaid pay for cell and gene therapies
17 December 2024 - by Melanie K. Kuester, Kristin Niakan, Brittany Schock
From manufacturer rebates to risk corridors, Milliman pharmacy experts discuss strategies for paying for high-cost drugs.
Article
Impact of anti-obesity medication coverage in Medicare Part D
06 March 2024 - by Madeleine Feller, Jake K. Klaisner, Ali M. Heinrich, Katherine M. Holcomb, Melanie K. Kuester
How might requiring Part D coverage for anti-obesity medications affect Medicare program costs?
Article
Maximizing opportunities to efficiently manage pharmacy costs in Medicaid
12 January 2023 - by Melanie K. Kuester
As drug costs continue to rise, states need to engage in strategies that include policy and nonpolicy options to manage prescription spending in Medicaid.
Article
Prevalence of rare disease in a commercial population using ICD-10 diagnosis codes
12 August 2022 - by Melanie K. Kuester, Jessica Naber, Conner Smith
Regenerative and targeted therapies increase the need to accurately identify rare diseases, and increased specificity in diagnosis codes of the ICD-10 could help
Article
Moving to a single PDL for a state's Medicaid program
10 January 2020 - by Jill Herbold, Melanie K. Kuester
This paper discusses several decision points and considerations for states evaluating a single preferred drug list requirement.