Doctors Offering No-Interest Loans to Patients

[RedEarth]

Source: NYT

Zero-interest financing, a familiar sales incentive at car dealerships and furniture stores, has found its way to another big-ticket consumer market: doctors’ and dentists’ offices.

.....

But as the price of health care continues to rise and big lenders pursue new areas for growth, this type of medical financing has become one of the fastest-growing parts of consumer credit, led by lending giants like Capital One and Citigroup and the CareCredit unit of General Electric. Big insurers, too, are devising new financing plans with various payback options. Upstart players have also aggressively cut deals with doctors.

The room for expansion looks ample, as rising deductibles, co-payments and other costs may force more of the nation’s 250 million people with health insurance to finance out-of-pocket expenses for even basic medical care.

“As more and more of the costs of care are shifted to consumers, people are going to need more credit,” said Red Gillen, a senior analyst at Celent, an insurance and banking research firm. “They are still going to need health care.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/business/30medloan.html?ei=5065&en=9d2e64718088c86a&ex=1189137600&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1188479083-UBIfQLFgcQ4I7N5P29wWMw

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Need some information on Single Payer Health Care? This site has a wealth of resources..........

Physicians for a National Health Program is a nonprofit organization of 14,000 physicians, medical students and health professionals who support single-payer national health insurance.

http://www.pnhp.org/

[Cassandra]

1. My dentist lets me stretch large payments out over time.

Particularly since he is well aware that dental insurance, which I don't have anyway, doesn't cover much.

[underpants]

3. My podiatrist is letting me stretch out my payments on orthetics

Feet started giving me problems in my running (oddly feel great now) and my wife's feet are really bad. Suddenly we have a podiatrist bill (GREAT!) but he didn't even bill me for one of the visits. Not that we can't pay he just isn't worried about it at this point (loaded and ready to retire). Still it is nice. If our insurance covered this we wouldn't have a problem now would we?

[Highway61]

2. That makes me SICK

No Interest???? WOW...how nice of them....and they get tax cuts as well!! Vote Dennis...get rid of the obscene profiteering.

I've been a nurse all my life and I know firsthand what goes on behind the scenes and how much $ is really being made in health care.

[sarcasmo]

5. I agree, it is very SICK.

We need a National Health Care plan NOW. Prisoners have better health care than low wage uninsured workers, this Country is A$$backwards.

[terisan]

4. Hmmm. Maybe prices should just come down. nt