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Credit card applications for elective care
Credit card companies are constantly expanding the services they offer, and now some programs from credit cards companies help healthcare providers such as cosmetic surgeons and fertility specialists offer patients another way to pay for elective surgery.
They can choose to participate in a credit financing program. If you would like to straighten your nose or whiten your teeth, you no longer have to be able to pay in cash when elective surgery is not covered by insurance.
Business Benefits. As a healthcare professional, if you can offer your patients another way to pay for the treatment they want, then you can increase the number of procedures you perform. This will result in more revenue and allow you to stand out from the competition.
If you can provide a quick and easy finance solution for a patient who wants to have a procedure but can’t pay for it up front, you will increase the business of your practice. This is a marketing tool that can help you to reach a larger base of patients, which can only help you to grow your small healthcare business.
Patients who come in for an initial consultation and do not return for services often simply don’t have any idea of how to pay for the procedure. Instead of losing this business, offering specialty financing will allow you to offer your client a way to go ahead with the procedure that they are interested in having.
This type of financing is available for elective procedures that aren’t covered by insurance, such as fertility treatments, laser refractive and other vision correction surgery, cosmetic surgery, and cosmetic dentistry such as orthodontics and laser teeth whitening treatments.
Where to Look. One place to look is Capital One. This credit card provider is one of the many financing companies working with small healthcare businesses today. The financing program offered by Capital One is even endorsed by the American Association of Orthodontists. Credit card companies can help small businesses to grow by allowing healthcare providers to share these financing options with their patients.
Another company to look at is GE Capital Consumer Card Company. They offer the CareCredit program, which is one of the largest programs to finance healthcare services such as plastic surgery in North America. GE pays the doctor as quickly as within two days from when the service is rendered, and patients have the option of on-line applications, applying by phone or sending in an application by fax.
In Florida, LocateADoc.com has financing available to their many monthly visitors using CareCredit. Patients are able to apply online for a line of credit for their healthcare procedures and treatment. They simply fill out a credit card application and receive the credit decision within seconds. They can even have their credit application processed before they choose their doctor.
This makes it even easier for patients to access convenient plans with low monthly payments according to Michael A. Testa, the president of CareCredit. The company is currently working in more than 40,000 healthcare offices to help millions of patients get the treatment they want.
Most lenders do not even charge a fee to sign up for the program. Small healthcare business owners can simply register with the company they choose. The company will then provide the business with application forms and information for their patients to use. As soon as the patient gets approval for their line of credit, the procedure can be performed. Clearly, there are many benefits to you and your patients from consumer care financing programs.
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Great Things For Doctors
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Great Things For Patients
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There are Always Risks. Using consumer financing programs can help you to build your small healthcare business, but there are risks involved for both the practitioner and the patient. Like most healthcare providers, you probably accept credit cards for payment.
Be aware that some of the companies that specialize in financing elective surgeries may not tell you what is written in the fine print. Most lenders work out a program with the healthcare provider where they share risk. The provider may give a 4 to 10 percent discount on what the patient was charged and the lender then has the responsibility for collecting payment.
Also, interest rates may start out low, but if your patient makes late payments, the rates may rise to as much as 28 percent. The healthcare provider is not the one who benefits from these additional fees. The lender makes the extra profit. If for some reason the patient simply doesn’t pay their credit debt, often the healthcare provider loses money.
As you tell your patients, there are always risks. What you are actually offering is an unsecured loan for a medical procedure. If a patient doesn’t pay, you may be left with the loss. It’s not as if you can repossess the procedure that you performed.
Despite the risks, consumer financing programs can be an asset to small businesses who want customers to keep coming back for services. In the big picture, helping customers to pay their medical bills can only be a good thing.
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