Why today's self-funded strategies aren't solving tomorrow's healthcare costs
4 Minutes
Team Curative
Sean Maguire, Chief Growth Officer
Jul 17, 2026
Self-funding has become the preferred funding model for many large employers—but simply moving to an Administrative Services Only (ASO) plan doesn't automatically lower healthcare costs.
For years, employers have adopted self-funded strategies hoping for greater transparency, flexibility, and control. Yet many continue to face the same challenges: rising pharmacy costs, increasing catastrophic claims, and employees delaying care until small issues become expensive medical events.
The problem isn't self-funding.
The problem is that most ASO models focus on administering claims after they're incurred instead of influencing what happens before those claims ever occur.
That's where the next evolution of ASO begins.
Curative Chief Growth Officer Sean Maguire has had a long tenure in the insurance industry and specific experience working with larger employers and ASO funded health plans, and he's sharing how you can evaluate if your organization is ready to adopt a fundamentally different model.
Cost control starts long before a claim is filed
Traditional ASO arrangements do an excellent job of processing claims, providing reports, and managing plan administration.
What they typically don't do is actively improve the health of the population they're serving.
As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers need more than administrative efficiency. They need strategies that help prevent unnecessary spending before it happens.
That means creating a model where members engage earlier, receive appropriate care sooner, and have fewer avoidable high-cost events over time.
Healthcare outcomes and healthcare costs are inseparable.
Engagement isn't a wellness initiative—it's a financial strategy
One of the biggest contributors to rising healthcare costs isn't utilization—it's delayed utilization.
When employees postpone preventive care because of confusing benefits or high out-of-pocket costs, conditions become more complex, more expensive, and more difficult to manage.
Organizations that successfully reduce long-term healthcare costs don't simply analyze claims more effectively—they create conditions that encourage members to seek care before problems escalate.
Early engagement becomes one of the most effective cost-management strategies available.
Visibility creates better decisions
Many employers receive detailed claims reports months after healthcare spending has already occurred.
While those reports explain what happened, they rarely provide the visibility needed to influence what happens next.
A more proactive approach helps employers identify emerging health risks earlier, understand population health trends, and make informed decisions before high-cost claims become recurring patterns.
For HR leaders and CFOs alike, better visibility leads to better planning.
Clinical integration matters
Another challenge facing many self-funded organizations is fragmentation.
Pharmacy, care navigation, disease management, and claims administration often operate independently, creating disconnected experiences for both employers and members.
When these functions work together instead of in silos, opportunities for earlier intervention increase.
Medication adherence improves. Care gaps are identified sooner. Members receive more coordinated support. And employers gain a clearer picture of how healthcare investments are impacting long-term costs.
Curative's approach to ASO
Curative's new Administrative Services Only (ASO) offering was built around a simple idea:
A health plan shouldn't just administer healthcare—it should actively help improve it.
Rather than separating administration from care, Curative combines the flexibility and transparency employers expect from an ASO model with the same proactive care philosophy that has defined Curative from the beginning.
That includes:
- A Baseline Visit designed to identify health risks early and close gaps in care.
- Care Navigation that helps members understand and use their benefits.
- Integrated pharmacy strategies that support medication adherence.
- Ongoing engagement designed to reduce avoidable high-cost claims before they occur.
The goal isn't simply to process claims more efficiently.
It's to help employers create healthier populations that naturally generate lower healthcare costs over time.
A different way to think about self-funding
For employers evaluating funding strategies, the conversation shouldn't simply be "Should we move to ASO?"
The better question is:
How can our funding model actively contribute to better health outcomes and better financial outcomes at the same time?
As more organizations look beyond traditional administrative models, the future of self-funded healthcare will likely belong to approaches that connect care delivery, member engagement, and financial performance—not treat them as separate conversations.
Curative's ASO offering reflects that philosophy.
Because better healthcare doesn't begin when a claim is submitted.
It begins much earlier.
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Table of Contents
Cost control starts long before a claim is filed
Engagement isn't a wellness initiative—it's a financial strategy
Visibility creates better decisions
Clinical integration matters
Curative's approach to ASO
A different way to think about self-funding
