A new star in the Lyfegen sky: Meet Valeria Litfullina, our new front-end developer

With the ever-present need to shift to value-based healthcare, Lyfegen continues to grow. Committed to building our platform to be as user-friendly as can be, expanding our IT team even further came naturally. For that reason, we are proud to now have Valeria Litfullina on board to support us in optimizing our platform in the best possible way.

We sat down with Valeria to learn about her experience, her goals and her aspirations.

Hello Valeria, and welcome to Lyfegen! Please tell us a little about yourself: Where are you from, and what’s your educational and professional background?

Hi! My name is Valeria. I was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. I studied piano in music college and the music academy and then worked as a musician in China until the pandemic struck and changed everyone's lives. Personally, it was a good change since it gave me a push towards the IT industry.

What excites you about being a front-end developer?

Front end for me is like a bridge between creativity and logic. One day you can discuss colors with designers, and the next day you can discuss data with backend developers. It is inspiring to be able to choose which direction you want to develop your skills. I am looking forward to strengthening my skills in web development even further.

Why did you decide to join Lyfegen?

I chose Lyfegen because it is the perfect company to enable my career aspirations as a front-end developer. Working in a start-up gives you the opportunity to work with a motivated team where everyone wants to be a part of something meaningful. Most importantly, it is almost impossible to come across a company with goals as ambitious as Lyfegen's.

What is something you want to learn or improve this year?

In terms of development, I will continue to hone my skills and gradually extend them towards the backend. I also want to build up my knowledge in healthcare and I may have to take up German as well as I just recently moved.

How will your know-how help to improve our customers’ experience of the Lyfegen platform?

I am responsible for the user interface as that is what customers see first. I enjoy experimenting with the look of the elements on the screen. Together with the testing and business team, we make sure that the design appears as it is supposed to and the platform is convenient to use.

Let’s get personal: What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

In my free time, I usually sing or play music; it helps me to express myself and cope with stress. I also try to combine my work at the computer with playing sports or going outside and exploring my city by bicycle. To unwind, I truthfully only need great movies and delicious food in my downtime.

Is there anything else you are looking forward to outside of work this year?

A lot is happening right now with politics and the situation in my country, so many plans had to change. This year, I will try to achieve stability and, after I have that, I will build my big plans!

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Study: Out-of-pocket drug costs increasing 5.8% per year

A new study investigated how drug rebates affect out-of-pocket costs for health plan beneficiaries. Rebates lower costs for payers, but depending on the health plan, they can raise costs for the patient.

There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the final price paid for a drug at the pharmacy, as official data on drug prices does not factor in rebates or the end price for the patient. The rebates paid by manufacturers to pharmacy benefit managers is not publicly available. The study therefore sought out to understand the relationship between rebates and the prices paid by insurers and beneficiaries.

Results: The negotiated price, defined as the price paid by the beneficiary at the pharmacy and by the payer after rebates are taken into account, rose 4.3% from 2007 to 2020. However, the out-of-pocket price, or that paid by the patient at the pharmacy, rose 5.8% annually. Retail pharmacy prices increased 9.1% annually.

Implications: Low-income families may be especially impacted by plans with higher deductibles and lower premiums, as they are not prepared for surprise costs associated with cost-sharing. As the authors stated: “consumers with a low deductible or capped copays appear to be shielded from steep pharmacy price increases.” The main contributor to increases in out-of-pocket expenses were increasing deductibles and co-insurance payments.

The authors emphasize that drug price transparency is important for health policy recommendations and more work needs to be done to understand drug price inflation.

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Ongoing debate around GLP-1 drug coverage

Payers are seeing increased costs due to the demand of GLP-1 drugs. It’s estimated that 57.4 million adults under the age of 65 could be eligible for this class of drugs, based on currently approved FDA indications. There are 36.2 million people with an obesity diagnosis alone in the US.

If 10% of eligible adults take GLP-1 medications for weight loss, a $15 increase could be seen in the per-member-per month costs. This number rises to $50 if one-third of eligible adults start taking these drugs. Zepbound, manufactured by Eli Lilly, has a list price of $1059 per month, whereas Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy costs $1349 for a one month supply. However, last month, Eli Lilly announced a major price cut for their weight loss drug. Now, a 4-week supply of their drug at 2.5 mg will cost $399, whereas 5 mg vials will cost $549.

The measure is aimed at improving patient access, while reducing the risk of counterfeit medications. This price reduction was made without changes to insurance policies, and the drugs are available through LillyDirect, the company’s online pharmacy.

Not all insurers want to cover weight loss drugs like Zepbound, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Ozempic, and innovative strategies are being explored to manage costs while keeping them available. One strategy is a utilization cap, which sets stricter standards for who is eligible. Another strategy is mentioned in Evernorth’s EncircleRX plan, which provides a 15% cost cap or a 3:1 savings guarantee when the medication is covered for weight loss.

The value of these drugs is still being investigated. If these medications can provide additional health benefits, there could be additional savings for payers down the road. Of note, studies have found reductions in cardiovascular death and sleep apnea when the drugs were used for weight loss.

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