Your doctor is a lender when…

You walk into your doctors office and get the medical treatment you need and you walk out having paid your $25.00 co-pay, flash forward 30 days and you now have a $597.99 bill from your doctor. What to do? Most people will wait until the second bill comes to see if they adjust the balance due after the insurance company pay’s their share. Now 60 days later you decide it is just a medical bill and after all it’s only 60 days past due so you wait for the next bill to drop. In the meantime something comes up, an anniversary, a speeding ticket and you just don’t have the $597.99 to pay this bill this month. Many people will short pay the bill (pay 1/2 or 1/3)  and break it up into some sort of self determined payment plan. Meanwhile your doctor waits to be paid. The doctor is also waiting for the insurance company to pay as well 60, 90, 120 days, depending on the system the doctor is using. The underlying theme here is, the doctor is now a lender and guess what… most of them charge no interest and never check the credit of those they are extending credit to. Great for the consumer, bad for the doctor.

So here comes the inevitable question, would you be interested if the doctor offered you a way to go on-line and pay your bill and even break it up in monthly installments? Would you be willing to pay a nominal interest rate on your balance? If you are a doctor or work in a medical practice would you like to have a way for your patients to pay on-line and earn an interest rate while being fully compliant with lending laws? I ask these question because I truly want to know your thoughts. Maybe your answer is “Hey Eric, leave it alone, I like making my doctor wait, he can afford it”. I would appreciate your comments and ideas and would be grateful if you would share this. Let’s start a conversation.