When a Curative VP became a patient: What she learned using the health plan she helps lead

Marissa Bloomer has spent her career helping people get the care they need before problems get bigger. She started as an oncology nurse. Today she's Curative's Vice President of Population Health, which means she leads the programs that help members stay on top of preventive care.

Then, in March 2026, she became the patient.

In this post, Marissa shares how a simple reminder led to her diagnosis, what it was like to be a patient for the first time, and what to know about when to get a mammogram.

How a Baseline Visit reminder led to a mammogram

Curative's plan is built around the Baseline Visit. It's a two-part check-in: a clinician reviews your health and a Care Navigator walks you through your benefits and the preventive care you're due for. Completing it is how members maintain $0 out-of-pocket costs for in-network care and preferred prescriptions.* That's by design. The visit is where reminders like Marissa's happen, and the $0 is what makes acting on them easier.

In January, during her visit, "I had a nudge to get my annual mammogram," Marissa says. "It is something I haven't honestly consistently done since I had turned 40 years old."

She already knew mammograms were important. What made the difference was getting the reminder at the right time and having fewer barriers to following through.

So she scheduled it. Here's what came next:

• Screening mammogram: a routine X-ray of the breast.

• Diagnostic mammogram: a more detailed set of images used to look closely at an area of concern.

• Biopsy: a small tissue sample that is tested in a lab.

Most biopsies are benign, and Marissa went home expecting nothing unusual. Then a notification came through her electronic medical record on her phone. "Being a nurse, I can read the results," she says. The diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer. It means cancer cells that started in the milk ducts and spread into nearby breast tissue.

A nurse called her later that day, and things moved quickly. Within a week, Marissa was meeting with a medical oncologist and a surgical oncologist, who walked her through her treatment options. She chose a lumpectomy, a surgery that removes the tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue, followed by radiation. Her radiation wrapped up in May.

"I quickly moved from being an executive in a health plan leading population health programs to being a patient," Marissa says.

She had spent years shaping the member experience. Now she was living it.

Even a health care expert can feel overwhelmed

Marissa's first job out of nursing school was as an oncology nurse. But that was 25 years ago, and she says things have changed a lot.

"Although I'm still a registered nurse and I still maintain my license, I don't know everything," she says. Her care team was thorough and walked her through each step, even though they knew she was a nurse.

Being the patient still meant waiting, and not knowing. Would she need radiation? Chemotherapy? More surgery?

For Marissa, that uncertainty was especially hard.

"Anybody who knows me or works with me knows that I plan and execute pretty much everything around me," she says. "Not being able to plan and execute was very, very difficult for me."

She couldn't plan three steps ahead because she first had to learn what the next step would be. It also gave her a clearer sense of what members may be feeling when they're trying to get care.

"I truly do understand how people access care, how frustrating it can be when you get a bill in the mail and you don't know what to do with it," she says. She also understands "trying to get in to see a doctor when they don't have appointments available and you're worried about your health."

It changed how she saw Curative's own tools, too. "It's really been essential for me to even learn how to use our own resources inside Curative."

Why $0 follow-up care matters as much as $0 screening

Most health plans cover preventive screenings, and Marissa knew that before her diagnosis. The harder question is often what comes next. A screening can lead to a diagnostic mammogram, a biopsy, specialist visits, and treatment. Depending on the plan, each step can bring a deductible or coinsurance, and that's when people start wondering whether they can afford to follow up. Research from the Neiman Health Policy Institute found that women in plans with higher cost-sharing had fewer follow-up imaging tests.

Marissa never had to weigh that.

"Throughout this whole entire journey, being a Curative member, I have paid nothing for my treatment this year," she says. "I have had no stress on bills. My family hasn't had to deal with the stress. It's been just focus on your care."**

For Marissa, that's what plan design can change. It's "allowing the patient or the member to focus on getting care and not focusing on surprise bills and incurring debt that they may have to pay at some point."

"Not only is the preventive screening a covered benefit, but when you access in-network care with Curative, the cost is zero," she says. "It made a huge deal to my well-being, my ability to work through treatment, to be able to continue my quality of life through treatment without having to worry about bills."

What Care Navigation looks like from the patient side

At Curative, Care Navigators help members understand their benefits, find appropriate care, and connect to available resources. After her diagnosis, Marissa saw even more clearly why that support matters.

Care Navigators are "somebody who's there for you to answer your call, answer your email, answer your text, and do that in a personalized way that matters to you," she says. "When you have access to someone who really knows your medical history, is able to see the complete picture of you when you contact them, it's easier for them to help guide you to the appropriate resources."

Members can also reach Curative's member services team 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Marissa had years of health care experience to draw on. Many members don't. A serious diagnosis can make even a familiar system feel complicated, and no one should have to figure it out alone.

How her diagnosis changed the way she leads

Before her diagnosis, Marissa already believed in preventive care, early engagement, and helping people navigate the system. Now those ideas feel different.

"It's no longer just a corporate health metric of how many people that were age 40 and over got their screening mammogram this year," she says. "While I used to say it, now I say it and I live it."

She knows what the timing meant. "If I would have waited one more year to get my mammogram, my tumor could have doubled in size and my treatment path would have been a lot different."

When should you get a mammogram?

Guidelines vary a bit by age and risk. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends mammograms every other year for women ages 40 to 74. The American Cancer Society offers an annual option for some age groups. Your own history matters too, so talk with your doctor about what's right for you.

Under your Curative plan, in-network preventive screenings are $0, and so is eligible in-network follow-up care.*

Her story is already encouraging others to get screened

Marissa made a deliberate choice to talk openly about her diagnosis. "As a nurse and a health care leader, I think that staying quiet doesn't really help anyone," she says. She's convinced almost 20 people to get a mammogram after hearing her story, one of whom was also diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

You can understand health care and still put off an appointment or need a reminder. Marissa's story comes down to three things:

1. a reminder at the right moment

2. a plan designed so that following up doesn't come with a bill to worry about, and

3. a strong support system. "Not only did I have the support from my providers, my family, my friends, but I also felt that Curative was my support system as well," she says.

If there's a screening or appointment you've been putting off, Marissa has one message: “Put yourself first.”

Disclaimers:

*Every Curative member qualifies for the $0 deductible, $0 copay for in-network care and preferred prescriptions by completing a Baseline Visit within 120 days of the plan effective date.

**This testimonial reflects one member’s personal experience as coverage may vary based on individual plan terms and medical necessity.