Health and Wellness Financing: Solutions to Support Treatment

High health and wellness costs can hurt patients and clients beyond their wallet, especially if those costs keep them from getting the care they want or need. Synchrony’s Lifetime of Healthcare Costs study found that health and wellness costs are 145% higher than most patients expect them to be — and more than 1 in 4 Americans have delayed recommended care and procedures due to cost.¹

Health and wellness patient financing can help clients manage those higher-than-expected costs. When the option to pay over time brings treatments within reach, clients and practices can both benefit. Patients and clients can receive the care they want or need.

What Is Health and Wellness Financing for Patients?

Health and wellness financing allows patients and clients to break eligible out-of-pocket costs into smaller payments made over time. In health and wellness settings, these options can make it easier for clients to agree to move forward with recommended services or commit to multi-visit plans.

The main decision practices have to make about financing is whether to offer a plan themselves or through a third-party. In-house plans can allow clients to defer payments or pay in installments, but they require administrative overhead for practices.

If you partner with a third-party lender that offers patient financing, your patients apply directly to the lender for financing. If approved, your practice gets paid right away and the third party coordinates loan payment terms and timing with the patients.

Why Health and Wellness Payment Solutions Matter

An insured American with an employer-sponsored health insurance plan can expect to spend an average of $320,000 in premiums and out-of-pocket costs during adulthood.¹ Beyond premiums, unexpected out-of-pocket costs can come from a number of potential areas:

• Deductibles and co-insurance. These may come as a surprise to some patients and clients.
• Non-covered or partially covered services. Costs for diagnostic testing, labs and in-office procedures, for example, can produce higher out-of-pocket expenses.
• Add-on therapies and preventive services. Care that falls outside of core coverage, such as chiropractic services or physical therapy support, can leave patients with unexpected bills.
• Multi-visit care plans, packages or memberships. Services that require a series of appointments, like IV therapy, weight management programs and bundled integrative care plans, are often paid partially or fully out of pocket.

In these cases, transparent cost estimates plus payment options can make treatment recommendations easier to accept, especially for family expenses or ongoing care plans.

Benefits of Health Services Financing for Practices

Providing patients more financial options for care can help a practice succeed and grow. Third-party patient financing can also offer distinct advantages for health and wellness providers including:

• Improve acceptance of recommended services and plan adherence. When patients know what care will cost and how they can manage payments, they can be more willing to follow recommended treatment plans, which in turn can lead to better care results.
• Reduce payment friction at checkout and during follow-up scheduling. Presenting monthly installment amounts alongside total costs can help limit “sticker shock” and make it easier for patients or clients to keep appointments they might otherwise skip as optional.
• Support recurring care models. Having a consistent, predictable flow of payments can help support health services that include packages, memberships and multi-visit plans.
• Enhance the patient experience. Being transparent with anticipated out-of-pocket cost estimates and offering health and wellness payment solutions can go a long way in building trust, loyalty and positive experiences for your patients or clients.

How to Introduce Health and Wellness Patient Financing

Make financing discussions part of your standard process. Use plain language and present it as one of several ways to pay. Mention financing options and share information at every possible patient or client touchpoint:

• On your practice’s website
• During intake or consults
• At reception and the checkout register
• In all patient communications, including reminders for regular or follow-up appointments

To support consistency, equip your team with simple tips and scripts for each stage of the patient journey — initial inquiries, appointment reminders, check-in and checkout. These scripts should explain that costs may vary based on the service and insurance coverage, reassure budget-conscious patients that flexible payment options may be available and clearly outline next steps (reviewing terms, confirming eligibility and estimating monthly payments) so patients can move forward with care.

CareCredit as a Health and Wellness Payment Solution for Eligible Services

The CareCredit credit card provides patients a way to pay for the services they want or need, and providers who integrate it into patient financial conversations can help reduce cost concerns. Patients can apply on the spot. Once approved, they can use the card over and over again for eligible services as long as you have available credit. Some patients may already be CareCredit cardholders and will be familiar with the convenience and benefits.

Those benefits also extend beyond your practice’s doors. With more than 35 years in the health and wellness space, CareCredit has an extensive provider network that includes animal and pet care, cosmetic care, vision care, audiology, dental care and even retailers like Walgreens.

Healthcare Financing for Patients and Clients: Next Steps

Care costs can be unexpectedly high. Flexible payment options can help ease cost concerns and give patients and clients a clearer path to move forward with recommended care. When finances feel more manageable, they can spend less time worrying about budgets and more time focusing on improving their health and wellness.

Offer Flexible Financing at Your Practice

If you are looking for a way to connect your patients or clients with flexible financing that empowers them to pay for the care they want and need, consider offering the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution. CareCredit allows cardholders to pay for out-of-pocket health and wellness expenses over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice or business.

When you accept CareCredit, patients or clients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Gina LaGuardia is the Managing Editor of Provider Insights, where she helps shape and deliver content strategy that highlights the benefits of being a CareCredit provider. Her work focuses on creating educational, engaging content that helps health and wellness providers grow their practices and strengthen their patient financing efforts. She brings extensive experience in content marketing and social media across health and wellness, personal finance, banking, education and careers, and small business sectors.

Healthcare payment and financing solution

The CareCredit health and wellness credit card helps improve the payment experience for patients and clients, and your financial performance.

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