With more patients looking for help to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, it is increasingly becoming necessary for healthcare givers to have different payment options. Healthcare Patient financing is transforming the industry by changing how patients are paying for the care they require. There are numerous lenders in the financing space that offer different options to help finance additional types of procedures your practice might offer.
Regardless of what part of the healthcare industry you operate in, patient financing options are popular, and you can learn all about them further in the blog.
Why Healthcare Financing Is Necessary
Healthcare financing is becoming more necessary as time goes on due to a multitude of factors within the industry.
A significant factor that causes many patients to pay out-of-pocket is that insurance coverage is constantly changing. Insurance policies are changing because of the procedures they cover and ones they will not, making more patients experience difficulty when they need specific medical procedures. When these policies vary, it becomes difficult for people to pay out-of-pocket because they are not ready for it since they did not pay at previous appointments. Instead of coming in prepared, they might come in and need financial assistance to get the necessary care.
Another factor is that some services are never covered by their insurance because they might be getting an elective procedure done. If you operate a medspa or chiropractic practice, insurances are known to be spotty with covering those types of services. Medspa procedures are commonly seen as elective since they are usually not done to save someone’s life or improve their health.
Therefore, people will have to pay for themselves if they want botox or plastic surgery. With chiropractors, insurance usually covers the first appointment, but many policies will stop coverage after that. That has been common practice for a long time, so your patients have to pay out-of-pocket, unfortunately.
One more thing to note is that some people only have medical insurance that doesn’t cover dental or vision care. In cases like this, people will always have to pay out-of-pocket to your dental or optometry practice.
Dental work is expensive, and glasses are also, so your patients will spend a ton of their own money to cover the cost. Situations like this force people to look for patient financing as they cannot pay for everything on their own, making healthcare financing more critical for your practice.
Healthcare Financing Services
Many financing services offer numerous financial advantages to your practice and patients so both parties can get what they need.
Loans
The most common way for patients to get financial help for their healthcare is to take out personal/medical loans.
Several banks and lenders offer different loans to patients for their procedures. Some lenders present medical-specific loans that help patients get the funds quickly, so their medical care does not have to wait. Once approved, loans are deposited into their accounts, allowing patients to pay you and get their necessary care. When patients need help paying for anything, loans are perfect for them to cover their needs while worrying less.
While loans are a typical form of lending and are great for many people, they have some relevant downsides you might want to consider. Loans are always complicated to receive approval for because they make the borrowing process difficult for patients. They are difficult because of the credit score and other prerequisites that will disqualify some patients immediately.
Some lenders also take a very long time to get the funds to the borrower, which is why finding a lender that offers medical-specific loans is helpful. Sometimes, those medical loans will get patients the money they need faster, but other loans usually take longer and are more tedious.
Loans make things easier on the surface but can carry some complications that patients might want to consider before using.
Credit Cards
Another popular patient financing option many people opt for is medical/personal credit cards.
Similar to loans, credit cards provide the necessary upfront funding that patients require. The good thing about credit cards is that many people already use personal cards for many purchases, and there are some medical credit cards available that they might use if necessary. Typically, patients are already used to using credit cards, so it makes sense for them to use their cards more often than getting loans.
Just like loans, credit cards carry some challenging prerequisites to get patients approved for credit cards. They are easier to use than loans once approved because patients can charge the card and pay it off however they please, but they will have to already be a cardholder before payment.
Also, your practice will need to be able to accept the credit card as a payment option if you want your patients to have the ability to pay that way. It is more common for people to use a Visa or Mastercard, but sometimes they might use some medical credit card from another lender. Either way, you will need to have accounts with all the providers to offer those payment options to your patients.
Payment Plans
Another option that many healthcare practices prefer to use is to offer patient payment plans.
Lenders offer payment plans for people looking for financial assistance and pay over time for their procedures. This payment option is a more flexible alternative that will appeal to a large portion of your patient base than loans or credit cards.
Sometimes, practices offer payment plans on their own while managing the entire process of setting them up along with the payment processing. But some third-party providers can help your practice do this, so you are not solely responsible for creating the payment plans and will have help available.
While payment plans are great for your patients, they change how your practice operates financially. Instead of receiving all the money upfront, you will not get the entire amount back until your patient pays you back. You will receive their down payment and then wait for the rest rather than a loan where you will get everything upfront. But that benefits your practice by creating continuous income for you, though you will not get the funds you expect right off the bat.
Partner with Financing Services
Your practice has a fantastic opportunity to partner with individual lenders to help patients find the payment solutions that work for them.
Some lenders will partner with your practice to streamline the application process for your patients. You can get them to apply while they are in the office after a consultation so they can either get pre-approved or get the ball rolling to get them approved for a loan. Sometimes, you can help your patients get approved quicker if the lender offers that for their partnered practices. Regardless of what they offer you, patients can have some help getting the loans they need when you partner with these lenders.
As mentioned, you can work with credit card companies to set up accounts with them so you can accept their payments from your patients. Credit cards are widely used and can help patients pay for many out-of-pocket expenses more efficiently. It is easy for your practice to partner with a credit card company because when they pay with this method, you will get the money directly into your account to have the cash immediately. Then, the patient will handle paying off the debt with the credit card company while your practice has the money it needs.
Any financing company that offers patient payment plans is typically very open to partnering with practices. Since payment plans are not loans, they are operated differently from other forms of financing and allow more options for you and your patients. Healthcare payment plans are a much easier way to give payment options to your patients because they can get approved fast and get the most out of their healthcare. When considering how you can partner with a healthcare financing company to get the best payment options for your patients, consider finding the one offering payment plan solutions that will benefit your practice.
Implementing Payment Plans
Your practice can start offering patient payment plans using Denefits!
Denefits is a complete payment options software for healthcare practices to integrate into their systems. The great thing about Denefits’ payment plans is that there are no credit checks for patients, so everyone is approved regardless of their financial situation. Denefits can give your patients more opportunities to pay for any care they need, no matter how much it will cost, while helping your practice boost your revenue.
Denefits also helps your practice by taking over your accounts receivable and billing department, making your day-to-day operations easier. Not only will your patients get the financial help they need, but your practice will also be able to accept more patients and expand services on a large scale.
Learn more about Denefits today by visiting the website or downloading the mobile app.
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