CMF CURO aspires to be the Catholic alternative to health insurance

Detroit — Time and again, the words were repeated by Christ Medicus Foundation CURO co-founder David Wilson as he explained the concept behind the first Catholic alternative to traditional health insurance: “Beauty is the language of God.”

Wilson, who helped establish the Troy-based health-sharing ministry in 2014, said there’s nothing more beautiful than Christians coming to the aid of one another.

“CMF CURO is a ministry where Catholics share their medical costs with Christians across the nation,” Wilson said. “We want to be able to support the wants and needs of Catholic clinics. If we can have them running with all they need, people will flock to these clinics.”

Wilson and other founders and leaders of CMF CURO were at the Detroit Athletic Club on Oct. 19, explaining the concept behind the Catholic-based alternative to health insurance. “Curo” is Latin for “heal.”

CURO is a Catholic health sharing ministry that’s part of Samaritan Ministries International, an evangelical health sharing ministry that launched in 1994. As such, CURO members meet the individual mandate established by the Affordable Care Act, which contains a provision for health sharing ministries in existence before 1999.

Health care sharing ministries operate on the concept that members will voluntarily send financial and spiritual aid to people in the network when help is needed to cover medical costs. Unlike traditional insurance, there is no monthly premium; instead, members are asked to contribute directly to other members when called upon to assist a Christian in need.

“What makes CURO unique is that it’s not insurance,” Wilson said. “One of the first things you talk about is the ministry; you tell them that this is a beautiful thing. You join to help others take care of their own burden; not to take care of yourself. If you are interested in caring for others, then go buy this. If you are in for yourself, go buy insurance.”

Each month, members are sent a newsletter detailing medical needs and are assigned another member to send financial and prayer contributions, called a “share.” Each member’s “share” is roughly the same each month — for instance, $360 for a couple age 26 or above.



In addition, members are asked to contribute to charitable funds set up by CMF CURO and Samaritan Ministries to assist members with medical costs exceeding $250,000.

When a CURO member has medical expenses exceeding $300, the member presents their CURO VISA card to the health provider to begin the billing process. Then, other CURO members are contacted and send financial and prayer contributions to the member in need.

“When you give the card to the health care provider, there is an electronic data address to the card,” Wilson said. “The information goes to our re-pricing agent. We re-price at 125 percent of Medicare, and 1 to 2 percent on average of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s rate. So doctors are going to accept the card.”

The re-pricing agent gives a new price to the medial expenses, which the health care provider accepts because they are part of the “Christian Love Your Neighbor” pricing program.

“We say to the doctors, ‘Doc, the reason we go to you is because we go to Church together, we share in a Christian ministry. We know you believe in this, and this is the ‘Love Your Neighbor’ price.’”

To be a part of the ministry, members must be professed Christians, attend regular church services and pledge to avoid harmful and immoral behaviors such as substance abuse and sexual immorality.

The history of CURO and the Christ Medicus Foundation dates back to the 1990s, when co-founder Mike O’Dea was looking at the reforms to the health care industry he felt were a threat to Catholic values.

“We had this vision, a Catholic health care program that was nationwide,” O’Dea said. “In the 1990s, Medicare, Medicaid and the MiChild programs were going through reforms which turned out to be a Trojan Horse for the Affordable Care Act. That’s why the Christ Medicus Foundation was founded, because in the 1990s, we were losing our religious liberty in health care.”

CURO launched on Jan. 1, 2015, and currently serves 600 households in 48 states. Samaritan Ministries International, which works with CURO for the cost-saving portion of the operation, has 50,000 households nationally.

In addition to sending financial aid to people in need, CURO members send prayer cards, letters and personal notes of encouragement to people in poor health.

“When we started this, I couldn’t image we would be here today,” Wilson said. “It’s the Holy Spirit’s working. The odds were just amazing to overcome. We had to negotiate with Samaritan International about making a distinctively Catholic culture for CURO, when they were working with a predominately rural, Protestant culture.

“The biggest thing to realize is, a lot of this is about prayer. We are centered in the true nature of the human person; sprit, mind and body, in that order. If you have a great attitude, your mental health will improve. This is obvious to a Catholic.”

CURO’s directors are pushing for a complete transformation in how people see health care; focusing on people rather than profits, building a network of prayer and community between people who contribute to the program.

“This is a great ministry to be a part of,” Wilson said. “We take that commitment to share your burden. It all starts with committing to doing the right thing. That’s the model of the ministry. What the ministry does is share the burden someone has in health care, and then it adds something that’s missing in secular health insurance — the spiritual element, the element of prayer.”

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Christ-centered health care

To learn more about how Christ-centered health-sharing ministries work, including a “Frequently Asked Questions” section, visit cmfcuro.com and christmedicus.org or call (800) 840-7471.