Medical credit cards.
Medical credit cards will help people pay for any needed health care, surgery, dental work or related costs. Several banks and lenders provide them to qualified borrowers. These particular medical credit cards can only be used to help pay for or finance health care, and they are even available to people with bad credit scores or a low income. Find medical credit cards to use to help for health care, dental, surgery, or related bills.
There are a limited number of medical credit card providers. A common practice to pay off substantial debt owed to doctors and other healthcare providers has been to work out informal payment plans with the hospital or provider. Particularly when the doctor-patient relationship has been maintained for a long period, doctors and dentists have been willing to accept monthly payments to pay off debts not covered by insurance. Credit cards are now another option for affordable, low interest or 0% financing.
Credit cards that help pay health care costs
The major medical credit cards include Synchrony’s CareCredit, Wells Fargo’s Health Advantage Card and Comenity’s Alphaeon. There are some other lenders that offer options as well, such as Citibank and LendingClub or Peer to Peer lenders, but they are fully committed.
Traditionally, credit cards offered for healthcare purposes were limited to pay for specialized and elective procedures. That remains typical for the Alphaeon card which is limited for use to obtain specific services provided by dentists, dermatologists, ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons.
The CareCredit and Health Advantage cards have far more uses and are accepted by hundreds of thousands of providers. Low-income families, or people with bad credit or a limited history can apply for, and often get, these medical credit cards for their healthcare needs.
CareCredit can be used to obtain medical, dental, hearing or vision care and can finance the cost of everything from office visit co-payments to hearing aids, urgent care, pharmacy needs and cosmetic surgery. It also pays for vet care for a dog or cat. CareCredit from Synchrony bank is also a great option for applicants with bad credit.
It is offered at almost 300,000 dentist offices, hospitals, veterinarians, hospitals and other medical providers. CareCredit will include emergency vets, annual physicals for dogs or cats and related pet care costs. All payments are flexible with payment plans offered. While the exact terms and conditions will vary based on the applicant, in general, the CareCredit card carries a 12.99% annual percentage rate. Learn more on CareCredit to pay for medical care.
The Wells Fargo Card focuses primarily on hearing, vision, plastic surgery/cosmetic surgery and dental needs. However Wells Fargo is one of the nation’s largest banks, and anyone who use the card for medical needs can take advantage of their other financing products, loans and more. They also offer a number of loan programs to families whether to pay for transportation to an appointment, emergency bills or other expenses. Wells Fargo will also cover the cost of veterinary care and supplies for your pets.
Like any credit card, the credit limit will be determined by your financial history and income. The Health Advantage card has an interest rate as high as 26.99%, but is has more low-income families and peoplke with bad credit. Both cards offer a variety of promotions in which interest is deferred for a specific length of time ranging for six to 24 months. More on Wells Fargo loan assistance.
The Alphaeon medical credit card focuses on elective surgeries. The lender offers a credit limit up to $25,000 and deferred-interest promotions for any charge above $250. The normal interest rate is 28.99%. There are no application costs or annual fees. Alphaeon will help pay for dermatology, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery, but it may also be used for other elective procedures.
Other banks with dental and medical credit cards
There are traditional banks and online lenders that provide financing. Additional credit card companies that have options for patients include the following. Both online lenders/credit card companies try to help people pay for medical and dental care. Or look here for other ways to get medical bill help.
- LendingClub Patient Solutions loans for medical expenses, which is a peer to peer short term debt. It offers fixed rates and a fixed monthly payment schedule to make budgeting easier, and it can cover a broad range of healthcare needs.
- Citibank Health Card is a major US bank that has some financing options too. This credit card can be used for medical expenses, offers promotional financing, but in general the 0% rate is lower and Citi has high interest rates after the promotional period ends.
- Grants are offered to pay some medical care or bills too. These can be issued by lenders, companies or foundations, even credit card providers. More on grants to help pay medical bills.
Using a medical credit card with a 0% interest rate to pay for healthcare makes economic sense when compared to charging doctor or dentist visits to a general purpose credit card that may carry a double-digit interest rate. Many doctor offices and dentists also have medical credit card applications in their office and/or the staff will help people find the best deal for the patient.
The drawback comes if the debt cannot be completely paid off within the deferral period. In that event, all the interest that would have accrued from day one is added to the debt making the amount ultimately paid substantially higher than the original financed amount.
Conclusion
Medical credit cards can be a great alternative to other forms of financing for patients that need dental or health care or that have an upcoming surgery. Unlike installment loans that may be limited to cover the amount of a specified procedure, medical credit cards can be used repeatedly to obtain a variety of services up to the credit limit for the card.
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