Virta Health’s Diabetes Reversal Treatment Drives Savings of More Than $10k Per Patient Over Two Years, New Analysis Shows

Using a methodology validated by Milliman, Inc., the study highlights monthly savings of $425 per Virta patient for commercial payers‍

SAN FRANCISCO—Virta Health, the leader in type 2 diabetes reversal, saves payers $425 per patient per month (PPPM)—more than $10k over two years—according to a new internal analysis. The study, which is based on a methodology validated by independent actuarial firm Milliman, Inc., affirms Virta’s financial impact on employers, health plans, and patients struggling with the out-of-control costs of diabetes care.

According to a recent American Diabetes Association study, people with diagnosed diabetes have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than those without. As the disease progressively worsens, these costs nearly always increase.   

Virta’s treatment flips that trend, by helping patients normalize blood sugar while often eliminating the need for diabetes medications. These outcomes coincide with dramatic cost reductions, such as:

• Total Pharmacy & Medical Cost Savings: During the first year, payers saw total savings of $3,094 per patient ($258 PPPM), increasing to $7,109 in year two ($592 PPPM). This amounts to over $10k over two years ($425 PPPM).
• Medication Savings: Medication elimination was the largest driver of cost savings from Virta’s treatment, amounting to 45% of total savings over two years ($193 PPPM). 
• Additional Savings: Overall improved health of Virta patients led to savings on inpatient visits, diabetes supplies, testing, labs, and reduction in costs related to comorbidities, including for behavioral health, obesity, and podiatry care services. 

"We have seen Virta’s treatment drive dramatic medication cost savings, which is a significant benefit to our employees,” said Connie Rightmer, VP of Compensation & Benefits at ZF Group. “This analysis reconfirms an outcome we’ve seen within our population, and proves that Virta offers an ROI for us, and improved health for our employees, that is unmatched by other diabetes solutions.”

Employer medical costs are projected to increase 6.5% in 2022 alone. Drug prices continue to skyrocket, with diabetes drugs seeing some of the steepest increases. 

In contrast, this analysis shows that for Virta patients, total costs decreased by 10.3% at year 1, and were down 27.9% at year 2, when compared to baseline. For the remainder of diabetes patients analyzed, costs increased by 23.9% during the same two-year period. 

“The Virta analysis shows promise that a novel intervention combining clinical and behavioral components may provide an answer to the enormous physical and economic costs associated with type 2 diabetes,” said Michael Chernew, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School and Virta Health advisor. “A solution that doesn’t just slow spending growth, but bends the curve in the other direction would be a real breakthrough.”

Virta’s study, Analysis of Type 2 Diabetes Reversal Cost Savings, focuses on claim-based results for early large commercial group deployments from 2017-2020 and includes patients from more than 30 U.S. states, across rural, urban, and suburban areas.