U-Haul Team Members Enrolled with Virta Health Eliminate Over One-Third of Diabetes Medications in Just 90 Days

‍Through Virta’s treatment, one U-Haul Team Member lowered his blood sugar to prediabetes levels, reduced his daily insulin dosage by over 85%, and lost 30 pounds‍

SAN FRANCISCO (September 8, 2022)—Type 2 diabetes reversal leader Virta Health and U-Haul International, Inc. announced 90-day outcomes from their partnership, including blood sugar reduction, weight loss, and medication deprescription for participating U-Haul Team Members.

Amid skyrocketing employee medical expenses, employers are struggling to control costs. Diabetes medications are seeing some of the steepest increases, with insulin prices rising more than 50% between 2014-2019. Meanwhile, under the standard of care, patients are typically prescribed more medications each year to manage their diabetes as it progresses, leading to a vicious cycle of rising costs and worse health outcomes.  

Virta flips that trend, by helping patients normalize blood sugar while reducing or eliminating the need for diabetes medications. After just 90 days, participating U-Haul Team Members saw transformative results, including: 

• Medication Deprescription: Team Members eliminated 34% of diabetes-specific medications (not including metformin). 83% either reduced or completely eliminated their insulin. At baseline, 1 vial of insulin lasted 17 days. At 90 days, 1 vial now lasts 40 days. ‍
• Clinically Significant Weight Loss: Team Members lost a combined 1,125 pounds, averaging 5% weight loss (considered clinically significant). Nearly a third achieved >10% weight loss. ‍
• Blood Sugar Reduction: Estimated A1c improved by 1.9% on average. Every one-point decrease in A1c (a measure of blood sugar) reduces the risk of long-term diabetes complications—such as eye, kidney, and nerve disease—by up to 40%.

One early success story comes from Jeff, a U-Haul Owner's Representative from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Since starting the treatment in February, Jeff has lowered his A1c from 7.5% to 5.9%—far below the diabetes threshold—while reducing his daily insulin dosage by over 85%. He has also lost more than 30 pounds.  

Says Jeff, “No matter what I tried, my weight and insulin dosage kept going up. I imagined myself at 350 pounds, with an amputated leg or foot, unable to work or be productive. I wasn’t willing to put my wife, children, and family through that. With Virta, I’ve seen a huge improvement in my health and can focus on doing the things I love again. Virta helped me get my life back!” 

Following the success of Virta’s type 2 diabetes reversal treatment, U-Haul recently expanded its partnership to offer Virta’s obesity and prediabetes treatments to Team Members at no cost. 

“We care about providing our team with the tools they need to succeed, and we partnered with Virta because they offer the best tool on the market to make disease reversal a reality,” said Monique Harty, U-Haul Wellness and Recruiting manager. “These initial outcomes endorse that Virta offers a real solution to help our Team Members get healthier while reducing the cost burden of type 2 diabetes.” 

To learn more about Virta’s work with U-Haul and to review eligibility requirements, visit: https://virtahealth.com/join/u-haul/90dayoutcomes