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• Metabolic Marvels: The Evolving Role of GLP-1s in the Employer Landscape

  • When
    March 06, 2025
  •  
    7:20 AM
  • Location
    Washington Athletic Club

  Register

  
  

  
  

  

  Employers continue to see their drug spend grow on their health plans and the amount paid towards GLP-1 medications continues to grow at a rate well above other medications. Brokers need to understand this trend and how to talk to clients about the impact to their health plan. In this session you will get an overview on metabolic health and treatment options available today. The session will explore GLP-1s available, predictions of future costs and claims, considerations of drug shortages and the use of compounding pharmacies and how that works with FDA regulations, and other cost and ROI considerations.  Learn how you can construct a targeted strategy to balance the cost of these medications with the benefits of improved health of members who reduce their future health risk.

  Carriers have had to implement strategies to manage GLP-1 coverage to keep costs in check while keeping plans competitive in the marketplace and providing flexibility to employers on coverage levels. As brokers consult with clients, they need to understand the different options available in GLP-1 management and how these options will impact future health plan spend.  In this session we will explore the lessons that can be learned from data collected over the last several years as GLP-1s have gained traction for treatment of diabetes and obesity. The session will review the benefits and drawbacks to allowing GLP-1 coverage for weight loss and the impact of also adopting a lifestyle management program. Trends in utilization and client adoption of coverage of weight loss medications will also be explored.

  
  

  Event Details:
  

  Date:  Thursday, March 6, 2025

  Location: Washington Athletic Club, 1325 6th Ave., Seattle, WA

  Schedule:

  7:20 - 7:45am   Registration & Breakfast

  7:45 - 7:50am   Program starts

  7:50 - 8:45am   Presentation- Kelly Polinski, Senior Director of Health & Well-being, Brown & Brown

  8:45 - 9:00am   Networking Break 

  9:00 - 9:25am   Presentation - Andrew Gudac, Senior Clinical Pharmacy Consultant, Cigna

  9:25 - 9:50am   Presentation - Kat Wolf Khachatourian, Medical Accounts Associate Director, Novo Nordisk

  9:50 - 10:00am Q&A

  
  

  Presenters:

  Kat Wolf Khachatourian, PharmD, MBA, Novo Nordisk

  

  Dr. Katherine Wolf Khachatourian, PharmD, MBA is a Medical Accounts Associate Director for Novo Nordisk serving as a medical resource to healthcare decision makers in the Northwest and across the country for multi-state stakeholders. Kat joined Novo Nordisk in 2022 after having spent twenty-two years in the healthcare industry, working across multiple settings focusing on clinical program design, medical and pharmacy policy development, health plan vendor oversight, and quality improvement outcomes for Medicare Advantage, Medicare ACO, and Commercial lines of business. Kat most recently served four years working as the Chief Quality Officer and Clinical Executive Director for an Independent Physician Association owned by an Integrated Delivery Network in Washington State. 

  Kat achieved her PharmD from Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Atlanta, GA, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington. She further completed a PGY-1 Managed Care residency with Group Health Cooperative (now Kaiser Washington). Kat enjoys traveling, collecting wine, and running around staying active with her two toddler sons.

  Kelly Polinski, Sr. Director Population Health & Well-Being, Brown & Brown
  

  

  Kelly is an engaging, entertaining speaker with an educational approach to help attendees understand pertinent foundation, current trends, and outlook within a context of how to pragmatically apply learnings to advance their work and improve the outlook of health and benefits. She develops academic, research-based content combined with an entertaining, story-telling delivery that engages and involves an audience and leaves them empowered to action. 

  Kelly brings fourteen years of experience in wellness, population health, and quality improvement. She currently leads Brown & Brown’s National Mid-market Population Health Consultant Team. 

  She is a former board member of the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts where she also served as the Programs Committee Chair.  In her previous roles with Gallagher and Fred C. Church, she worked with employers of all sizes and industries to improve health outcomes and increase engagement. 

  She is a Certified Wellness Program Manager through the Chapman Institute and is Certified in Public health (CPH).  She earned her Master of Public Health from the University at Albany and her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Elizabethtown College.  She has served as an examiner for Partners in Performance Excellence, using the Malcolm Baldridge excellence principles to strategically evaluate organizations.

  She resides in Central Massachusetts with her husband and two children.  She is a certified indoor cycling instructor and enjoys competing in sprint distance triathlons in her spare time.

  Andrew Gudac, Sr. Clinical Pharmacy Consultant, Cigna

  
  

  Andrew Gudac is a Sr. Clinical Pharmacy Consultant with Cigna Pharmacy Sales and Account Management. Upon graduating from Butler University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program in Indianapolis, Andrew began his managed care career training at Select Health, Intermountain Health’s insurance division, in Salt Lake City.  During Select Health’s residency program, he rotated within clinical practice as well as many functions of the health plan including clinical and formulary management, pharmaceutical industry relations, medication therapy management, and employer relationship/benefit design.  

  Before joining Cigna, Andrew worked as a Clinical Account Executive at Navitus Health Solutions where he served large commercial groups and managed Medicaid health plans.

  At Cigna, Andrew supports integrated middle-market employer-sponsored health plans in the Mountain States and Pacific Northwest regions. He is currently enrolled in the University of Hartford’s MBA program, with a concentration in business analytics, and anticipates graduating in August 2025.

  
  

  Registration:

  $70 Members/$95 EBPA Members - Before 03/03

  $100 Members/$125 Non-members or Guests after 03/03

  $140 New or Renewing EBPA Members + Event Registration **

  ** Membership paid through this registration is valid through December 31, 2025. 
  

  Online registration deadline is Monday, March 3, 2025. If you miss the online registration, call the office 206.653.7259.  No refunds or credit for future meeting granted after the deadline. 

  

  Thank you to our March 2025 Event Sponsors

           

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