According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 46% of insured adults cannot afford out-of-pocket medical expenses.
That means almost half of all adults will require financial assistance for any unforeseen medical expenses they cannot pay. Your practice will need to find innovative payment solutions for this problem as it will affect you if it has not already. If you cannot find financing options for your patients to get the care they need, you will have to turn them away when they cannot pay.
Thankfully, there are many patient financing opportunities to help your patients afford the care they need, allowing you to offer your services while growing your revenue.
How Patient Financing Works
The patient financing industry is large and complex but has options for an assortment of borrowers that need help.
When your patients need financial assistance, there are different companies you can partner with that will help you secure financing for your patients. These companies will offer credit cards, loans, and payment plans that can directly apply to your patients’ services. Each option will have benefits that are unique to each patient, like better annual percentage rates (APR), easy credit checks, or better payoff terms.
Patient financing can get complicated for some since specific lenders have strict guidelines for who they will lend money to. If your patient has a low credit score, they will either not get approved or have a very high-interest rate. Since every borrower is different, you must find lenders that can offer the best rates and terms for all your patients.
Different Financing Options
Lenders that offer a medical-specific loan typically aid your patients because they can secure favorable loan terms for everyone. Many loans have a lengthy approval process and prove hard on patients who need the money quickly. When a lender offers a medical loan, they can typically get patients approved faster, so the funds are released immediately.
Some lenders offer medical credit cards, which are like a loan and help your patients get the necessary care. Medical credit cards are similar to loans because they use the same financing structure as a loan. Like regular credit cards, patients can charge the payment and pay it back over time, but only for medical procedures. Patients can use these medical credit cards to finance any out-of-pocket medical costs they cannot afford.
There are also payment plans that medical practices can offer as a patient financing option. These different payment plans allow your patients to pay for their procedures over time in smaller installments. Payment plans are usually set up through the medical practice and are either managed directly by them or by a third-party company.
All the patient financing options work in unique ways that will benefit you and your patients differently.
How Financing Options Compare
If you want to find financing options for your patients, various lenders will be ready to partner with your practice. When your medical practice is deciding which financing option is best for your patients, consider the different pros and cons each option will give.
Loans
Many practices are partnering with lenders that offer different loan options to the patients for any of the care they need.
Most medical/personal loans can go as high as $100,000 with an assortment of APRs from each lender. Loans are excellent for your practice because you get all your money upfront, and you will not have to wait on anyone to pay you back. When you receive the money upfront, you can cover all your operating expenses with no problems.
The issue with loans is that some lenders will not approve your patients if they do not fulfill the terms. If you partner with a lender, it might not be super helpful for all your patients and will most likely only benefit you. When choosing a loan provider to work with, you can see what their requirements are for your patients to decide if they will be a good fit or not.
Credit Cards
Some practices are beginning to partner with credit card lenders to accept the card as payment options.
While medical credit cards are often popular, they are unique in their function with your practice to make financing possible for patients. Like loans, these credit cards provide upfront money for your practice while the patient pays back the lender later on.
Similarly, it is not always the best option for your practice because while you partner with these credit card lenders, your patients might not use them as much as you would expect them to. If the lender’s services are not reasonable for your patients, then you will not be able to finance patients as you want.
Payment Plans
Payment plans are a unique option to help patients pay for the services or procedures they urgently need.
Payment plans are much different than credit card and loan lenders because the requirements are not as strict. On the flip side, using payment plans means your practice will not get money upfront because you only get paid when the patient makes their payments. But there’s a catch!
While you do not get the entire amount upfront, the patient will provide you with a down payment and then pay the remaining amount over time. This option is much more flexible than other payment options because you can create them according to your and patients’ requirements rather than have a third-party lender make them for you.
With the option of paying over time, many patients will use payment plans because they need a simple solution to help them pay for any unforeseen expenses. Instead of making your patients struggle to secure financing, you can help them by offering different payment plans.
Financing Patients With Bad Credit?
The biggest issue with patient financing is that many have bad credit and struggle to receive approval.
The best financing option for patients with bad credit is a payment plan system that you can implement in your practice. Payment plans typically do not require credit checks or have low credit score requirements, allowing you to finance every patient when they need help. With traditional lenders, anyone with bad credit will not get approved for financing, pushing your patients back where they started.
Some loan providers have low credit score requirements or no prerequisites but charge much higher interest rates and fees when this is the case. So with an option like this, your patients can get approval but will have to pay exorbitant interest. These high rates force them to pay more than is necessary compared to a payment plan or loan with a lower interest rate.
If you offer payment plans to your patients and guaranteed financing regardless of their credit situation, you can get more patients through the door and start growing your practice’s productivity.
How Financing Helps Your Patients
With different financing options available for you to offer your patients, your practice can help patients get the care they require.
It is becoming increasingly common practice for people to skip out on the care they need because they cannot afford it and do not have any other option. With lending becoming more complex, patients struggle to see the point in pursuing the proper care for themselves if they cannot easily afford it.
In these situations, this is where your practice can step in and help people see that you are their ally in getting them the proper care. Instead of turning them away when they cannot pay, show them how you can help them secure financing and feel more comfortable with their payment options. When partnering with a lender to help your patients get your services, you can prove to them that you genuinely care for them.
Sometimes, patients get turned away by doctors because they do not have the opportunities to finance their care. When people figure out that your practice has flexible payment options, they will start visiting you instead of your competitors. You will get more new patients and start turning lost revenue into profit for your practice.
Offer a Payment Plan Today
You can integrate Denefits, an innovative complete payment options provider that gives your practice the power to create payment plans at your fingertips.
With the free software, you can have Denefits take over your accounts receivable to manage all the payments going to your practice. While your accounts receivable are taken care of, you can focus on the care of your patients and make their experience the best.
The most promising part about using Denefits is that there are no credit checks for the patients. That means everyone is guaranteed financing regardless of their credit score and overall financial situation. You can start financing every patient that walks through your door and turn in more profit for your practice you may have lost all this while.
Get started with Denefits today by visiting the website or downloading the mobile app!
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