Healthcare sharing ministries have been around for decades, but they rose to prominence after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. These organizations act as a replacement for medical insurance. Instead of paying a monthly premium, participants send their monthly contribution to other members with expenses that need to be covered. Until recently, however, there were no explicitly Catholic options.
Today, I sit down with Louis Brown, the director of CMF CURO – an apostolate of the Christ Medicus Foundation, and the first Catholic healthcare sharing ministry. Louis explains what CMF CURO is, how it works, and how it can reduce the health care costs of Catholics while allowing them to engage in Christian charity and be a part of an organization that won’t violate their conscience.
This is a podcast every Catholic in America needs to hear.
Steve Skojec is the Founding Publisher of OnePeterFive.com. He received his BA in Communications and Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2001. His commentary has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Crisis Magazine, EWTN, Huffington Post Live, The Fox News Channel, Foreign Policy, and the BBC. Steve and his wife Jamie have eight children. You can find more of his writing at his Substack, The Skojec File.
My wife and I looked for a long time for a Catholic healthcare sharing program, but never came across this. Their website says they were founded in 1997.
We ended up going with Samaritan Ministries (a Protestant healthcare sharing program) with no other apparent options. Needless to say, this year, we were unable to continue with that program.
All-in-all, it is a great program. I hope that Christ Medicus Foundation is as well.