Economic Impact of a Precision Nutrition Digital Therapeutic on Employer Health Costs: A Multi-Employer and Multi-Year Claims Analysis
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Background
Obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, and mental health conditions are leading contributors to employer healthcare expenditures, yet effective nutrition-based strategies are rarely integrated into coverage. Precision nutrition, which tailors dietary and lifestyle guidance using genetics, gut microbiome profiles, lifestyle and blood biomarkers, and behavioral data, may provide a scalable approach to reduce healthcare costs in diet-responsive health conditions.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of medical claims from seven U.S. self-insured employers. Employees who enrolled in a precision nutrition digital therapeutic (n = 258) were compared with matched non-enrolled controls (n = 8,268). Outcomes were changes in permember-per-year (PMPY) medical expenditures over 12 months before and after enrollment, estimated using a two-stage difference-in-differences framework. Analyses focused on total medical costs, diet-responsive “diet-responsive” categories (obesity, digestive, and mental health), and condition-specific subgroups. Exploratory analyses of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes were conducted to examine utilization patterns.
Results
Enrollment was associated with a -$251 PMPM (-$3,012 PMPY; N treated and never treated = 233/7,611) reduction in diet-responsive medical spending. The largest effects were observed in digestive disorders (-$770 PMPM; -$9,240 PMPY, N=18/502), though with wide confidence intervals and small sample size, followed by obesity (-$407 PMPM; -$4,884 PMPY, N = 23/1,125) and anxiety-related mental health conditions (-$113 PMPM; -$1,356 PMPY, N= 38/1,061). Depression showed a negative but non-significant trend (-$248 PMPM; -$2,976 PMPY; N = 28/842). Total medical spending, inclusive of non-diet-responsive categories, was reduced by -$337 PMPM (-$4,044 PMPY; N = 258/8,365) but did not reach statistical significance. CPT/HCPCS analyses indicated that savings were driven by reduced utilization of medical nutrition therapy codes in digestive disorders, psychotherapy codes in anxiety, and outpatient visits and procedures related to obesity. These exploratory findings are consistent with prior reports of diet-based interventions reducing reliance on recurrent outpatient services.
Conclusions
Precision nutrition delivered through a digital therapeutic was associated with meaningful reductions in medical expenditures for diet-responsive conditions, averaging approximately $3,000 PMPY in gross medical savings. These effects were directionally consistent with prior food-as-medicine interventions; however, subgroup results—particularly for digestive disorders—should be interpreted cautiously due to the small sample sizes. As pharmacy and program costs were not included, findings reflect changes in medical benefit expenditures only. Within these limitations, the study adds evidence that precision nutrition may offer a scalable, data-driven strategy to help employers address the growing healthcare burden of obesity, gastrointestinal, and mental health conditions.
