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Medical Credit Cards Are Not Good for Your Patient’s Financial Health

Posted by Norman Woolworth | Jun 1, 2020 4:29:02 PM

Your priority as a provider is caring about your patients’ health… and that includes their financial well-being. But what can you prescribe for patients who don’t qualify for your existing financing options? Instead of turning them away or sacrificing 5-20% of your patient’s balance to a medical credit card company, consider a triple dose of success with Epic River’s patient lending solution.

Win-Win-Win

With Epic River patient lending, everybody wins:

  • All patients qualify for an affordable loan to cover their balance after insurance with a monthly payment of their choosing
  • Providers (you) receive 100% of the account balance from a local bank or credit union with no processing fees
  • Local financial institutions leverage their collection experience and success

Credit Confusion

The truth is that most medical credit card applicants are declined, and those accepted often report feeling misled by the terms and conditions.

Topping the list of credit card confusion is the term interest-free. While true that the patient pays no interest for a period of time, that interest is merely deferred until a later date. Typically, the interest-free period will end if a payment is missed, at which time all of the interest - on the full amount borrowed - comes due. For patients on fixed incomes, like the elderly, paying an exorbitant credit card bill with unexpected interest is a large financial hardship.

Epic River’s solution works for you and your patients: 

 

With medical credit cards:

With Epic River:

Credit card companies win while patients lose by profiting off late fees, high-interest rates, and confusing terms

Providers and patients win with straightforward terms, affordable monthly payments, and nearly 95% of balances paid in full

Most patients are not approved for a medical credit card. Only 20-30% of applicants are accepted. 

All patients are approved and 95% of the time, loans are paid in full

Big credit card companies are owned by large organizations

Epic River keeps your money local - with financial institutions that care about your community

Your practice pays a discount upfront to offer an interest-free period 

No discount! You get paid in full for your patient balances upfront


Fast Cash

Working with Epic River keeps your practice healthy, too!

If your office needs cash now, we can remotely build out a transition plan allowing you to convert existing payment plans and AR into immediate cash.

At Epic River, we establish partnerships between healthcare providers and financial institutions - offering affordable loan options to patients and turning debt into dollars for doctors.

Interested in learning more? Schedule a quick call.

Topics: patient financial services

Written by Norman Woolworth

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