For the latest business news and commpanies data, please visit CNN Business. If that sounded unmanageable, she added, the couple could take out a loan through a bank that had partnered with Mercy Chxrging. She was «fairly forceful,» recalled Cameron, 28, who lives in Monwy, Arkansas. Hospitals are increasingly offering «patient-financing» strategies, cooperating with banks and other financial institutions to provide on-the-spot loans to ensure patients pay their bills. Private doctors’ offices and surgery centers have long offered such no- or low-interest assistance for services not covered by insurance or to patients paying for an expensive test or procedure with a fixed price. But health experts say promoting bank loans at hospitals and, particularly, in emergency departments, raises concerns. Related: How Trump plans to cut prescription drug prices.
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Hospitals and health systems are looking for creative ways to tackle a thorny and growing problem: how to collect self-pay accounts associated with a growing number of high-deductible health plans. Today, patients with high-deductible policies are grappling with significantly greater out-of-pocket costs. Kaiser Family Foundation reports the average annual out-of-pocket costs per patient rose almost percent between and As consumers shoulder greater financial responsibility for their care, hospitals and health systems are interfacing more than ever with patients to collect on accounts many individuals simply can’t afford. As providers revisit their collection methods, some healthcare institutions are using patient loan programs to alleviate patients’ financial burdens and reduce bad debt. Orlando-based Florida Hospital has offered medical loans to cash-strapped patients for more than decade. In that time, the program has evolved significantly to suit patients’ increasing financial obligations. Before contracting with a third party financing vendor, the hospital self-administered its own loan program and charged patients interest rates upwards of 18 percent. However, low patient acceptance levels indicated the need for repayment terms that were more flexible and less punitive. Florida Hospital partnered with patient financing firm ClearBalance in in a concerted effort to transform its patient pay strategy from one of collections, to one of resolution and repayment. For Florida Hospital, this meant striking interest rates from its loans altogether. Since implementing a zero-percent loan option, more patients have participated in CB’s program than ever before, says Jeff Hurst, senior vice president of finance and Florida Hospital. In fact, Mr. Hurst says the program has out-performed all other repayment tactics, including staff follow-up, early-out and bad debt collections, for the past three years. The program is successful, in part, because it addresses patients financially in a non-threatening way, Mr. Hurst adds. Few patients control their need for medical care, and interest-free, non-qualifying loans relieve much of the financial anxiety affecting patients’ psyche during a stressful time.
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Laura Cameron, three months pregnant, tripped and fell in a parking lot and landed in the emergency room in May. She was flat on her back — scared, in pain and attached to a saline drip — when a hospital representative came by to discuss how she would pay her bill. If that sounded unmanageable, she added, the couple could take out a loan through a bank that had a partnership with Mercy Hospital. But health experts say promoting bank loans at hospitals — and, particularly, in their emergency departments — raises concerns. Patients may feel they have no choice but to sign up because they need treatment — and the quick loan process means they may well be signing on for expenses they cannot afford to pay. What initially seems like a tempting solution may not be such a great deal in the end, suggests Mark Rukavina, an expert in medical debt and billing at Community Catalyst, a Boston-based advocacy group. Many patients have trouble coming up with cash to pay those bills, meaning hospitals have a harder time collecting what they are owed. He expects that percentage to grow, as do many industry analysts. A billing representative then lays out payment plans, often while the patient is still being treated, and a loan sign-up can take place right away, often without a credit check. Once back home, the patient writes monthly checks to the lender, which has paid the hospital and keeps a designated percentage of the bill as its fee. Proponents view financing as a useful alternative to medical credit cards, which can surprise users with high interest rates. The partnerships enable hospitals to offload the headache of administering monthly payment plans and pursuing collection.
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Join the conversation! Sick patients may feel they have no choice but to sign up for a loan to receive treatment. And the quick loan process may leave them with expenses they can ill afford to pay. She was how do companies like clearbalance make money without charging interest on her back and plugged into a saline drip when a hospital employee approached her gurney to discuss how she would pay her hospital. If that sounded unmanageable, she offered, they could take out interfst loan through a bank that had a partnership with the hospital. But promoting bank loans at hospitals and, particularly, emergency rooms raises concerns, experts say. Sick patients, like Cameron, may feel they have no choice but to sign up for a loan since they need treatment. And the quick loan process, usually with no credit check, means they may well be signing on for expenses they can ill afford to pay. The offers may sound like a tempting solution for scared, vulnerable patients, but they may not be such a great bargain, suggests Mark Rukavina, an expert in medical debt and billing at Community Catalyst, a Boston-based advocacy group. But many patients have trouble coming up with cash to pay bills of hundreds or even thousands of dollars, meaning hospitals are having a harder time collecting what they believe they are owed. To solve their problem, about 15 to 20 percent of hospitals are teaming up with lenders to offer loans, said Bruce Haupt, CEO of ClearBalance, a loan servicing company. He, along with withokt analysts, expects that percentage to grow. A billing representative then lays out payment plans for the patient, often while he or she is still being treated. Wlthout your research. There are charities that specialize in medical bill payments and other organizations that may help. Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to provide financial assistance for certain low-income patients; figure out if you qualify. Find out what Medicare, which covers older and disabled people, pays for the same treatment. A patient can then sign up for a loan, often without a credit check. Patients write monthly checks to the lender, which has paid the hospital while keeping a designated percentage of the bill as a fee. The partnerships are tempting for ilke because they shift the burden of administering monthly payment plans and collection efforts.
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