At just 30 years old, Fred Turner, co-founder and CEO of Curative, has already demonstrated an exceptional ability to build large-scale operations under immense pressure. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner led one of the United States’ largest testing operations, establishing CLIA-certified laboratories, administering millions of tests, and operating across nearly every state in the nation.
However, it was not merely the scale of the operation that shaped him; it was the insights it offered into the shortcomings of the U.S. healthcare system.
“Scaling a national testing operation during COVID fundamentally shaped how we run our health plan today,” Turner reflects. “We learned how to move fast without losing focus on our purpose and the member experience—and always putting that first.”
This relentless focus on the end user, whether patient or provider, now underpins Curative’s mission: delivering a health insurance plan that removes financial barriers to care.
From Pandemic Response to Health Plan Reinvention
Curative’s origins as a pandemic testing company gave Turner a unique perspective on the healthcare system and its frequent failures.
“Running one of the largest testing operations in the country meant interacting with nearly every payer in America, across 49 states,” Turner recalls. “We saw firsthand how complicated and inconsistent the system was, even for something as seemingly simple as processing the correct CPT code two years into the pandemic.”
This dysfunction sparked a pivotal realisation: the root problem lies in how care is financed. To genuinely improve health outcomes, Turner reasoned, Curative had to become the payer.
As an employer attempting to provide coverage for 7,000 workers during the pandemic, Turner experienced the challenge firsthand.
“We struggled to find a plan that encouraged preventive care rather than delaying it. Everything had trade-offs that discouraged the very behaviour you want—using preventive care early,” he explains. “We ultimately landed on the idea that to truly move health, you have to be the payer. If the payer covers care, people get it. If they don’t, they don’t.”
This insight became the foundation for Curative’s zero-deductible, zero-copay commercial PPO plan, now available to employer groups across multiple states.
The $0 Out-of-Pocket Cost Model: Evidence, Not Ideology
In a landscape dominated by high-deductible health plans, Curative’s approach may appear radical. Yet Turner insists it is grounded in evidence rather than ideology.
“High-deductible plans were built on the premise that members needed to have ‘skin in the game,’” he says. “In reality, the complexity and lack of transparency make it impossible for individuals to analyse their options. What happens instead is people skip preventive visits and delay treatment—and the costs emerge later.”
Curative reverses this model by removing cost-sharing for in-network care and most prescriptions. Members start their coverage with $0 out-of-pocket costs, and by completing a ‘Baseline Visit’ within 120 days of their plan start date, they maintain these zero costs. There is no waiting period—just a straightforward step designed to engage members with their care from day one.
“Eliminating copays and deductibles wasn’t a leap of faith, but a logical response to what the evidence showed: when people can afford to engage earlier, they do, and the whole system performs better,” Turner explains.
Financial sustainability is achieved through proactive engagement and high-value care.
“We control trend through proactive management to high-value providers, and a modern claims and pricing infrastructure that limits administrative waste,” Turner notes. “We’re exchanging deferred, high-cost care for earlier, lower-cost intervention.”
The Baseline Visit: Turning Coverage into Action
The Baseline Visit is more than onboarding—it forms the foundation of Curative’s engagement model.
“It’s a structured process that ensures people understand their benefits, know how to access care, and start building healthy habits from day one,” Turner says.
Each member is paired with both Curative clinicians and care navigators. Clinicians review medical history, labs, and preventive needs, while navigators schedule follow-ups and serve as ongoing points of contact.
The results are notable. Curative reports a 98% completion rate for Baseline Visits, with 90% of members with chronic conditions identified early, before claims arise.
“When people understand their benefits and feel confident using them, engagement and outcomes both improve,” Turner affirms.
A Health Plan Providers Actually Like
Curative also prioritises provider satisfaction. The company simplifies interactions by removing patient billing layers and streamlining coverage rules, reducing administrative burden and improving cash flow.
“We’ve focused on fixing the parts of the payer–provider relationship that waste time and create friction,” Turner says.
The provider letter emphasises the advantages:
“No more bad debt write-offs from uncollected copays and high-cost deductibles. The bill stops with us, not the patient.”
This approach has fostered goodwill among hospital systems and physicians, particularly in Texas, and as the company has expanded into Florida and Georgia.
Built to Last: Financial Rigor Meets Mission-Driven Design
Despite its youth, Curative demonstrates strong financial credentials. The company holds an A- (Excellent) rating from AM Best and is fully funded for three years with the Texas Department of Insurance.
“From day one, we’ve prioritised financial rigour,” Turner says. “Our A- rating reflects that stability, and our three-year funding ensures member protection and solvency.”
The model aligns incentives among members, providers, and the company.
“When members engage early and providers are paid cleanly, everyone wins,” Turner adds.
The Future: Reimagining What Insurance Can Be
Looking ahead, Turner foresees a shift in health insurance norms, where ‘no deductible’ is no longer a differentiator but a standard expectation.
“Five years from now, I think the biggest change in health insurance will be a mindset shift,” he says. “Everyone is starting to realise that deferred care is the real cost driver, not utilisation itself.”
He predicts the most successful plans will prioritise prevention, transparency, and trust.
“By then, ‘no deductible’ won’t be the differentiator, but the expectation for what functional, modern health insurance looks like.”
Curative’s roadmap is clear: scale nationwide, deepen provider partnerships, and demonstrate that a health plan built around engagement—not avoidance—can improve outcomes while lowering costs.
“Ultimately, we’re applying the same approach that worked during the pandemic—identify what’s broken, remove the barriers that don’t add value, and build a system that performs better for both the people who use it and those who deliver care,” Turner concludes.