Update: Blue Cross NC Launches No-Cost Virtual Programs for Members to Quit Smoking and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

June 7, 2021 Update: This communication has been updated to include details on verifying program eligibility and member costs. The original update was posted on October 20, 2020.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) announced it is teaming up with Carrot Inc. and Virta Health to help address two of the largest ongoing health issues facing Americans today - smoking and type 2 diabetes. These programs will be available at no additional cost* to eligible members beginning November 2020. They support Blue Cross NC’s commitment to make health care better, simpler, and more affordable by providing members easy access to care through digital technology.

Member Eligibility

Virta and Carrot’s programs will be available to individual under-65 members and fully insured group members beginning November 2020. More specifically, member eligibility includes:

• Carrot Inc.’s Pivot tobacco cessation program
  • Individual under-65 (ACA and transitional)
  • Fully insured groups
  • 18 years and older
• Virta Health’s type 2 diabetes reversal program 
  • Individual under-65 (ACA and traditional)
  • Fully insured groups
  • 18 – 79 years old
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Medical exclusions apply: 
    • Diabetic ketoacidosis for people with type 2 diabetes in past 12 months
    • Pregnancy
    • Stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease or end stage renal disease on dialysis

Some plans are not eligible. Eligibility can be verified through Blue E and Customer Service.

*Costs are covered under the member's current plan, processed through claims at no charge to the member.

Carrot Inc.’s Pivot App: Innovative, Digital Technology Empowers People to Quit Smoking

Carrot’s clinically proven, app-based program Pivot combines innovative technology, human-centered design and behavioral science to empower people to quit smoking and remain non-smokers. In a recent clinical study 42 percent of participants achieved a successful quit over the course of the study, and seven months after the onset of the study, 86 percent of those who quit were smoke free.

Pivot’s digital solution includes text-based access to trained tobacco experts, a first-of-its-kind personal breath sensor to track progress, nicotine therapy products, and access to Pivot’s online community for collective wisdom and inspiration.

For more information:

• Download the Pivot program flyer (PDF) to share with your patients.
• Visit the Pivot website

Virta Health’s Type 2 Diabetes Reversal Program

Virta Health, the leader in type 2 diabetes reversal, uses an innovative virtual care model that helps patients achieve normal blood sugar while eliminating the need for diabetes-specific medications. Patients receive near real-time access to board-certified physicians and health coaches who provide expert, individualized guidance on nutrition and behavioral change through the Virta app. Virta also serves as a partner to primary care providers, integrating its specialized diabetes reversal treatment into existing care plans.

In Virta’s peer-reviewed clinical outcomes, at one year 94 percent of participants reduced or eliminated the need for insulin. The majority of patients eliminated all diabetes-specific prescriptions while achieving normal blood sugar. Results also include 12 percent (30lbs) weight loss, and improvement in over 20 markers of cardiovascular health, including blood pressure.

For more information:

• Download the Virta Health program flyer (PDF) to share with your patients.
• Visit the Virta Health website. 

iVirta Health Peer-Reviewed Clinical Outcomes at One Year