For brokers and benefits consultants
Bring your clients a GI strategy you can defend.
Few plans manage digestive conditions, one of employers' most costly condition groups. Nerva is digital care for persistent symptoms. Pricing is at risk, so clients pay for outcomes, not PEPM.
- 300,000+ people supported
- 8,000 active US providers
- RCT published in the AJG1
- Fees tied to agreed symptom outcomes
The hidden client cost
GI is a top employer cost. GLP-1s are adding to it.
Digestive costs are spread across conditions, care settings and lost work, so they rarely reach a renewal agenda.
- Conditions and symptoms
IBS, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea
- Medical claims
Primary care, gastroenterology, tests, medications and emergency care
- Workforce impact
Absence, disability and reduced productivity
Employer condition costs
Top 3
GI diseases are among employers' most costly condition groups.15
- reason adults visit the ED: stomach and abdominal pain.11
- #1
- of employed people with IBS report impairment while working.3
- 87%
The missing care layer
Nerva supports employees whose symptoms persist after a clear workup.
Existing providers keep diagnosing disease and managing complex cases. Nerva adds a care path for persistent abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea.
Why claims repeat
- 1Persistent symptoms
- 2Repeat visits, tests and ED
- 3Clear structural work-up
Where Nerva intervenesTarget: lower claims and more productive time.
The solution
What employees get.
A six-week digital program with clinical screening, brain-gut behavioral care, dietary guidance and symptom tracking, followed by maintenance access.
- Multimodal gut-brain care
Care without an appointment
One 15-minute guided brain-gut session a day for six weeks: on their phone, wherever they are, with no appointment to book.
- AI-guided accountability
Daily support personalized by AI
AI adapts coaching, reminders, education and dietary guidance to each employee’s symptoms, preferences and goals.
- Outcomes and reporting
Validated symptom tracking
Employees see their progress through validated symptom check-ins. Employers receive aggregate outcome reporting.
- Clinical governance
Clinical support when needed
Our care team screens at intake, reaches out to members who go quiet, and escalates warning signs to a provider.
The Nerva difference
The only virtual GI solution in the US backed by a randomized controlled trial
Backed by 17 published studies, including a peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial.
Overall IBS symptom severity
IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS)
Median change from baseline · Lower is better
81%1of participants met the primary symptom endpoint, compared with 63% on active control.
Randomized controlled trial · N=244 · active control · AJG 2025 Read the research →
- clinically significant abdominal-pain reduction, compared with 35% on control
- 71%
- lower six-month IBS management costs among Nerva completers.5
- 60%
RCT: n=244 randomized; n=240 primary analysis. Company-funded. Results do not imply cure or remission.
Independent evaluation by PHTI
“Within the evidence reviewed, Nerva presented the strongest overall evidence for improving IBS symptoms.”
Peterson Health Technology InstituteVirtual Gastrointestinal Care Solutions, March 20267
$1,889
Estimated annual net savings per commercial user7
Average annual net savings per user by category
- Functional GI$1,889
- MSK$1,300
- Depression / Anxiety$600
- Opioid Use / SUD$400
For your scorecard
The four answers an RFP asks for.
- Evidence
- A randomized, peer-reviewed trial: 81% met the primary symptom endpoint vs 63% on active control.1
- Independent review
- PHTI, March 2026: “the strongest overall evidence for improving IBS symptoms.”7 PHTI has not rated the current enterprise offer.
- Savings
- Modeled, not observed: an actuarial model built with Accorded, assumptions shown.8
- Pricing
- At risk. Clients pay for outcomes among employees who enroll, not PEPM.
Size the opportunity for a client.
Our actuarial model, built with Accorded, estimates a client's cohort, enrollment, net savings and break-even.8
- expected gross ROI in Nerva's actuarial model, developed with Accorded.8
- 4.7x
10,000 covered employees
$43,000–$86,000Expected annual net savings8
$1,276net savings per enrolled member
Working with Nerva
What we handle for you.
Size it
A modeled estimate from covered lives, then a claims analysis to set the baseline.
Evaluate it
RFP and questionnaire answers, with the evidence, model assumptions and SOC 2 documentation.
Launch it
A company link or eligibility file, with communications templates.
Report it
Aggregate enrollment, engagement and outcomes reporting for client reviews.
Pay for outcomes, not PEPM.
Pricing is at risk. Fees apply only to employees who enroll and depend on symptom outcomes agreed before launch.
Questions from brokers and consultants
Which clients are a fit?
Self-funded employers, who hold the claims risk. For a fully insured client, the health plan is the buyer.
Does Nerva replace the carrier, TPA or GI network?
No. Existing providers keep managing diagnosis, structural disease and complex cases. Nerva adds a care path for persistent digestive symptoms.
How do employees access Nerva?
Through a company link or eligibility file. They can start immediately, with no appointment.
How is impact measured?
A claims analysis identifies the cohort and sets the baseline. After launch, we track validated symptom outcomes and claims impact with a method agreed upfront.
Take a GI strategy into your next client review.
A 20-minute call on which clients are a fit and what a claims analysis would show.
Sharing this with a client? Send them the employer page →
Advising a health plan? See Nerva for health plans →
References
- Anderson, Ellen J.; Peters, Simone L.; Gibson, Peter R.; Halmos, Emma P. Comparison of Digitally Delivered Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy Program With an Active Control for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The American Journal of Gastroenterology 120(2):p 440-448, February 2025. DOI: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002921
- Frändemark, Å. et al. Work Productivity and Activity Impairment in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): A Multifaceted Problem. The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2018;113(10):1540–1549: 86.8% of employed IBS patients reported impairment while at work and 24.4% reported missed work due to IBS.
- Peters, S. L.; Gibson, P. R.; Halmos, E. P. App-delivered gut-directed hypnotherapy halves the long-term costs associated with managing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms and improves work productivity. Retrospective study of 17,000+ Nerva users, presented at Digestive Disease Week: IBS management costs fell from USD 1,259 to USD 502 over six months, with significant long-term improvements in work absenteeism, presenteeism and overall productivity. Retrospective completer analysis, not a controlled trial.
- Peterson Health Technology Institute. Virtual Gastrointestinal Care Solutions Assessment. March 2026. PHTI estimated $1,889 in average annual net savings per commercial user for wraparound functional GI care, using IBS as the representative condition. Cross-assessment estimates were $1,300 for MSK, $600 for depression and anxiety, $400 for opioid use and substance use disorder, with no savings identified for hypertension or diabetes.
- Nerva actuarial model developed with Accorded, August 2026: expected economics net of the model's expected per-enrollee fee. The range uses 6.75% to 13.5% enrollment across a 10% addressable, 50% eligible and reachable population.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: stomach and abdominal pain is the most common principal reason for adult emergency department visits. See also Wu et al., Academic Emergency Medicine, 2025, on ED abdominal-pain presentations 2007–2019.
- Springbuk. Employee Health Trends 2025: gastrointestinal diseases are among the three most costly condition groups for employers.
- Wilding, J. P. H. et al. Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity (STEP 1). The New England Journal of Medicine, 2021;384(11):989–1002: gastrointestinal disorders were reported by 74.2% of participants on semaglutide 2.4 mg and 47.9% on placebo.
- Cotter, L. et al. Perspectives from employers on the costs and issues associated with covering GLP-1 agonists for weight loss. Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, October 2025. A human resources director reported that GLP-1s went from number 32 to number one in pharmacy spending in a year. One employer's account from KFF's interviews, not a survey estimate.