Mar 26, 2025

every time she ate — a side effect of her diabetes medication. After learning about a coworker's success with Virta Health's digital type 2 diabetes program, a free employee benefit offered by nonprofit healthcare system Banner Health, she decided it was worth a shot. "I felt run down and fatigued; I have kids, and it's hard when you're a busy mom working full time," Castelhano says. "But my biggest thing was the GI issue. I went to a GI doctor and they looked at my med list and said, 'Well, you're diabetic and you're on these diabetes medications, so basically you're going to have this as long as you're on them.' I felt defeated." A turning point , which for her had never yielded real results. While looking through Banner's intranet, which includes articles and other resources to keep employees updated on benefits and other company information, she came across a personal success story about a member of the workforce. "I read a spotlight about a Banner employee who was doing the [Virta] program, and I could not believe how much success he had in a short amount of time," she says. "So I said, 'Hey, why don't I try this?'" Virta's suite of digital health solutions is aimed at helping people achieve a healthier lifestyle through better nutrition habits that lead to weight loss, reversal of diabetes and prediabetes, and reduction of medications, including those for diabetes and others, such as GLP-1s. Interested employees submit an application and enroll if approved. Through its app, members receive support from a personal coach, healthcare providers, educational tools, progress-tracking tools such as a digital scale and blood sugar and ketone meters, and access to an online member community. Since starting the diabetes program in May 2024, Castelhano has lost 48 pounds, reversed her type 2 diabetes, reduced medication, and feels better than she has in years. "I've had so much success," she says. "My only regret is not starting it sooner." Read more: An approach that works Castelhano gave herself 90 days from the start of the program to see progress, but it only took 30. It was hard mentally, she says, and she relied on her personal coach as well as speaking to a separate mental health counselor, which was also covered under her benefits. Changing her eating habits was quickly followed by more energy, better sleep, getting into an exercise routine and shedding pounds. Now, she feels more in tune with her body's needs and can self-regulate far better than before, she says. The fast and lasting results that members experience means they are motivated to stick with the program, and employers see strong participation and a quick ROI. "Virta offers three things that are unique," says Amit Shah, chief operating officer at Virta. "Number one is high engagement. Number two is rapid results that are sustainable over time. Third, because of that rapid result, you see an incredible ROI. Our average ROI over the first two years is $600 per engaged member per month, and that is because we are pulling people off of these expensive drugs and we are getting them healthy." Read more: A company's focus on employee health Banner started offering Virta's diabetes program in January 2022, and now has 855 people actively enrolled. In the first year, 39% of participants eliminated their diabetes medications — 42% cut out their insulin completely — 60% of participants lost at least 5% of their body weight, and 19% saw over 15% weight loss. Ashely Allen, Banner's senior benefits analyst lead, credits the company's communication approach, including multiple internal channels, mailers home, and education for HR, for helping get engagement off the ground fast. "We did a huge slideshow presentation on Virta and what was going to be offered," she says. "We also have benefit navigators — certain team members who sit at some of our larger facilities and meet with our new employees to explain what benefits we offer, as well as with our current employees every other year or so. Virta did training with them, just to really deep dive into the program so that they could speak to it when they're meeting with our team members." Following this success, Banner added Virta's prediabetes program in 2023 and its weight loss program in January 2025. The interest in all three programs has been high, especially for the newest program: In less than a month, 141 people had enrolled, and 666 new applications were being reviewed. Diabetes and other chronic conditions related to unhealthy weight are some of the biggest cost-drivers for employers, and for Banner, the numbers prior to adding Virta's programs emphasized the need for change. The company covers healthcare for 91,000 people including employees and their dependents, 5,000 of whom are diabetics, and simply helping them manage their condition with supplies and medication wasn't leading to positive outcomes, says David Schuitema, Banner's senior director of benefits. "Every year, we look at several different results of what's driving our health care utilization — illness burden, risk scores, who's who's driving these things — and diabetes is always one that is associated with many comorbidities and ER utilization," he says. "Those we get engaged, who have done what Virta requires, [are] costing us far less than those who are not." Read more: As a matter of fact, they reduce costs by more than half: Coverage for those who are considered high risk — on medication and whose outcomes aren't improving — costs more than $17,000 a year. Those classified as moderate risk — type 2 diabetes reversals who are managing their A1C, losing weight and on fewer medications — cost $7,848, Schuitema says. Banner rounds out its health and wellness offerings with many other benefits and programs, and employees are incentivized to use them through the company's MyWell-being program, which awards points for any activities or actions that promote healthy behavior, such as preventative care and daily exercise. Participants can redeem points for up to $600 off their health insurance premium. When employees have access to a free benefit like Virta that has such a large impact on their lives, the goodwill that follows cannot be undersold, says Schuitema. Castelhano agrees, praising the company's holistic approach to its workforce's well-being. "This is just one tool in the toolbox," she says. "Banner does so much for their employees to promote overall health, and I'm really grateful to work for such a great company."