The simplest health insurance pitch is also the most expensive to deliver: pay one monthly premium, get your checkup, and never see another bill. Curative has built a $1.275 billion valuation on the bet that this model, which flips the standard incentive from avoiding care to seeking it, can be run profitably [Business Wire, Dec 2025]. The Austin-based insurer, which pivoted from COVID-19 testing, now tells employers it will cover 165,000 people with a plan that has $0 copays, $0 deductibles, and $0 out-of-pocket costs for in-network care, provided members complete an annual baseline visit [LinkedIn News, 2025].
The wedge is a checkup
In exchange for a comprehensive annual visit, which 98% of members complete within 120 days, Curative removes all financial friction for in-network care for the rest of the year [Healthcare Brew, Mar 2026]. For an employee, it means no surprise copays or deductibles. For Curative, the baseline visit is a data-gathering event that allows its clinical teams to identify and manage health risks early. The company describes an "AI-powered member experience" to guide care, but the fundamental economic lever is behavioral: make the first visit easy and free, hoping it reduces the likelihood and cost of a later, catastrophic one [Business Wire, Dec 2025].
A pivot funded for scale
Curative’s path to this model was unconventional. Founded in 2020 with an initial focus on sepsis diagnostics, it pivoted hard into COVID-19 testing, scaling to 35 million tests before exiting that business [LinkedIn, 2026]. The recent $150 million Series B, led by investors including SoftBank Vision Fund and Justin Mateen’s JAMS, values the company at $1.275 billion and is earmarked for geographic and membership growth [Business Wire, Dec 2025].
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| CEO & Co-founder | Fred Turner |
| President & CFO | Tami Wilson-Ciranna |
| Co-founder | Isaac Turner |
| Chief Scientific Officer & Co-founder | Vlad Slepnev |
The actuarial counter-bet
The model’s obvious risk is adverse selection. Curative’s defense rests on a few key controls: the baseline gate, the focus on employers with 51+ employees, and network steering. The company claims it is on track for $570 million in revenue this year, which suggests premium income is scaling rapidly [LinkedIn News, 2025]. Competitors like Centivo and Sana Benefits also focus on value-based, employer-sponsored plans, but none anchor their entire value proposition on the complete elimination of member cost-sharing after a single visit.