Kristin Niakan
Kristin Niakan is a pharmacy management consultant with the Chicago office of Milliman. She joined the firm in 2021.
Experience
Kristin has eight years of experience in the pharmacy space. She works with various healthcare entities, including state Medicaid agencies, pharmacy chains, health plans, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and a variety of clients across the pharmacy supply chain. Her areas of expertise include Medicaid pharmacy benefit design, Medicaid drug reimbursement, pharmacy pipeline and marketplace, health policy, and broad experience with research and claims-based analyses.
Kristin specializes in the analysis of large healthcare claims data. Kristin’s expertise lies in summarizing and interpreting complex data across various disease states. She has a proven track record of providing valuable insights that drive strategic decision-making and cost effectiveness. Her background in public health, coupled with her professional experience, enables her to understand and navigate the complexities of healthcare data and health policy. In her role, Kristin collaborates closely with government agencies and policymakers, providing them with the data-driven insights they need to optimize patient care and affordability. Her work has been instrumental in identifying trends, identifying inefficiencies, and informing policy changes in the healthcare sector.
Prior to joining Milliman, Kristin worked at a consulting firm where she supported 15 state Medicaid clients with their pharmacy benefit. She developed complex financial models using pharmacy and medical claims data to identify inefficient spending, project pharmacy trends, and inform policy decisions for state Medicaid program’s pharmacy benefit. Kristin supported state Medicaid agencies by evaluating spend and utilization patterns in order to prepare states for changes in the pharmacy marketplace. Kristin also worked at the New York City Department of Health prior to consulting in the healthcare space.
- GLP-1 agonists in Medicaid: Utilization, growth and management, January 2024.
- Optimizing health equity expertise for CMS initiatives, January 2024.
- What Medicare plans should know about CMS’ recent health equity-focused initiatives, December 2023.
- Cancer screening utilization and costs by insurance segment, November 2023.
- Drug and administration costs in the commercial market for generalized Myasthenia Garvis pharmaceutical therapies, November 2023.
- Demographic characteristics of accelerated approval drug utilizers in Medicaid, June 2023.
- Costs and considerations for elimination of hepatitis C virus in the United States, March 2023.
- Study of the impact of COVID-19 on HIV testing, diagnosis, and treatment in the United States, October 2022.
Education
- MPH, Public Health, University of Copenhagen
- BS, Biology, Virginia Tech
Publications