Patient Financing Turn Downs – It’s Not as Bad as You Think
Up-front financing for subprime patients does not exist in healthcare yet. Providers want payment now and patients want affordable options. The chief complaint amongst most providers we speak to is that they don’t have a patient financing solution for their patients with low or no FICO scores.
More often than not, they don’t want to put them on an in-house payment plan because it’s too big of a financial risk. They are looking for a solution that pays them up-front and takes the risk that they are unwilling to take on. This solution doesn’t exist in the healthcare financing industry, especially with elective procedures because these services are costly. More money more problems, as they say.
The patient financing model has been the same for years. There is a better way for practices and patients that providers haven’t thought of, it’s called pay-over-time.
Pay-over-time
The pay-over-time industry is huge in countries like Australia. In fact, if you go to Google Trends and search for pay-over-time, you will see Amazon on the list of trending searches. Recently, Amazon started offering pay-over-time on select items like electronics. This model isn’t a theory or a test, it is a proven effective method of payment that is growing in popularity.
Why does pay-over-time work? Because it offers a better experience for the consumer/patient and it makes goods and services more affordable. According to AfterPay, a pay-over-time solution for retailers, “On average, Afterpay partners see a 22%+ increase in conversion and a 20-30% increase in average order value.”
Turning window shoppers into patients
People that would normally window-shop are now purchasing goods and services. Why not implement the same solution in your practice, keep the principal and the interest, and do it all without worrying about compliance or debt servicing?
HFD offers a financing solution that actually works for healthcare providers. We have a collection rate of 94%. Plus, we earn providers an average of 17% interest on each payment collected. Our providers get to say yes to every patient and still get paid. Installment loan agreements, not traditional billing models, are the solution right now.
Why doesn’t HFD offer up-front financing for subprime patients with low to zero FICO scores? Because it’s more profitable for the provider to be able to say yes to every patient and earn the principal owed plus interest. Of course, it’s a win for patients who would otherwise have been unable to qualify for care.
Eventually, subprime lending will be more commonplace in healthcare than it is now. Everyday subprime consumers are financed for mortgages, vehicles, and furniture. In healthcare, however, HFD is the only company supporting providers making an effort. For now, the burden is on the provider to take a risk on their patients or not treat them at all. Fortunately for these providers, HFD’s solutions helps mitigate the financial risks and give a healthy boost to their bottom lines.
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