Visana Health, a virtual medical home for women, has expanded its Weight and Metabolic Health care model to more fully integrate hormonal, metabolic and lifestyle interventions into weight loss treatment. The expansion is designed to help employers and health plans better manage rising weight-related healthcare costs, including GLP-1 spending, by treating the interconnected hormonal, metabolic and other health conditions that influence women’s weight —all through one clinical team.

Women’s weight is influenced by a complex mix of hormonal, metabolic and life-stage factors, yet much of today’s weight-loss market treats weight as a standalone condition. Menopause, PMOS, insulin resistance, thyroid conditions, muscle loss and bone health can all intersect with a woman’s weight and impact both treatment and long-term outcomes.

At the same time, employers and health plans are facing growing spending on weight-related care, including the rapidly rising cost of GLP-1 medications. Those costs extend beyond weight-loss medications themselves. Research has found that after patients started a GLP-1, spending on other healthcare services increased by $585 in the first year and $6,800 over five years, driven in part by additional outpatient care. The findings underscore the importance of looking beyond pharmacy spend when evaluating the total cost of care, and for women in particular, the opportunity to better coordinate weight care within their broader healthcare needs.

“Weight doesn’t exist in a vacuum, especially for women,” said Chevon Rariy, MD, DABOM, a practicing board-certified endocrinologist and obesity medicine physician, and Chief Medical Technology Officer at Visana Health. “A woman may come to us wanting to lose weight, but she may also be navigating menopause, insulin resistance, a thyroid condition or other health issues that are deeply interconnected. We have an opportunity to address those needs together—not send her to three different providers—and build a treatment plan that improves her health well beyond the number on the scale.”

Visana’s Differentiated Approach

Visana makes weight loss treatment work harder for women with evidence-based, stepwise care that uses the right treatment at the right time, including GLP-1s only when clinically appropriate. The expanded Weight and Metabolic Health care model includes:

  • Hormonal, weight and metabolic care in one integrated care team: Visana’s multidisciplinary care team treats weight alongside conditions like menopause, PMOS, thyroid disorders and insulin resistance as part of a woman’s broader health needs rather than through a standalone weight-loss program.

  • Stepwise, evidence-based treatment: Visana providers develop personalized treatment plans, starting with the intervention that makes the most sense for each patient using a full range of interventions, including lifestyle modifications, lower-cost medications and GLP-1s when clinically appropriate. Treatment evolves as the patient’s needs and health goals change.

  • Wraparound care: Visana’s expanded Weight and Metabolic Health care model builds nutrition, strength training and bone-health support into the treatment plan to help women preserve muscle mass and achieve more sustainable weight loss results, while mitigating potential treatment side effects such as muscle loss and weakness.

Through earlier intervention, coordinated specialty care, and improved management of complex women’s health conditions, including weight loss, Visana’s broader comprehensive women’s healthcare model has demonstrated average savings of $3,429 per patient within six months.

For more information about Visana Health, please visit: https://www.visanahealth.com/.

About Visana Health

Visana Health is a comprehensive virtual women’s health clinic built to care for the interconnected health needs women experience throughout their lives. Through its 50-state medical clinic, Visana diagnoses and treats a broad range of conditions, with deep expertise in complex, high-cost needs including perimenopause and menopause, endometriosis, PMOS, and weight and metabolic health. Its value-based care model brings these needs together under one clinical team, improving access and outcomes while reducing total cost of care for health plan and employer partners. Learn more at www.visanahealth.com.

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