10 Myths About CareCredit — Busted

As a provider, offering flexible patient financing through CareCredit can have many benefits for your practice or business and for your patients or clients. But there may be misinformation that might be holding you back from getting started.

Below, we separate the myths from the facts so you can make an informed decision about joining the more than 285,000 provider and retail locations that accept CareCredit.

Myth #1: CareCredit Doesn’t Approve a Lot of Customers

You might be hesitant to get started with a whole new financing option if it may only apply to a small percentage of your clientele. But what if CareCredit could empower more patients and clients to move forward with care?

Fact: CareCredit approved more than 2.4 million new accounts in 2024.

The CareCredit credit card is one of the largest health and wellness credit cards in the United States, averaging around 200,000 new accounts per month.

Adding CareCredit to your patient or client financing options may help remove cost barriers that are holding some back from seeking services. In fact, 3 out of 4 people would seek more services for health and wellness care if they had ways to pay for them, according to CareCredit's Healthcare Journey Research Consumers and Providers study.¹

Myth #2: Offering Financing Creates More Work for My Team

It’s only natural to be hesitant about bringing in a new option that may impact your daily operations and financing. You could be worried that it will disrupt your current system, or that the learning curve might be challenging for an already busy staff to overcome.

Fact: CareCredit can simplify your administrative workflows.

CareCredit can lighten your team’s administrative and financial workload in a few key ways.

• It can seamlessly integrate into your team’s day-to-day tasks and practice or business software systems, including the ability to look up CareCredit accounts through your list of upcoming appointments, complete a transaction without leaving your management software and/or easily post transactions to your ledger.
• In many cases, CareCredit credit card applications only take a few minutes, and those interested may apply on their own device using a custom link or QR code.
• The digital-led experience can help reduce paperwork and make cost conversations with patients or clients easier.

According to a Synchrony survey, more healthcare providers agree that in-house financing (72%) adds more hours of work for staff compared to third-party financing (53%). Additionally, more providers (67%) say third-party financing helps their billing process, compared to in-house financing (57%).²

Myth #3: My Patients/Clients Don’t Want Financing, and Offering It Will Turn Them Off

You might be concerned that some consumers perceive patient or client financing solutions and the overall concept of borrowing through credit as something to be wary of. But effective communication can help show your patients or clients the potential benefits of financing options.

Fact: CareCredit is a trusted brand, with 1 in 10 U.S. adult residents have or have had a CareCredit credit card.³

CareCredit has 12+ million open cardholders and has financed more than $157 billion in care since its inception. With CareCredit’s education tools and resources as a guide, you can help ensure your patients or clients clearly understand how the card works.

When leveraging best communication practices, special financing through CareCredit can help more people move forward with the care they want or need.

Myth #4: Prequalification Will Impact a Patient’s or Client's Credit Score

One of the things applicants may worry about when applying for credit is that it will trigger a hard inquiry, which can cause their credit score to drop. And therefore, as a provider, you may feel uncomfortable asking your patient or client to apply.

Fact: Patients or clients can see if they prequalify in real time with no impact to their credit.

One of the advantages of CareCredit is that patients and clients can see if they are likely to be approved for a line of credit without a hard pull on their credit reports. If they decide not to apply, their credit score is not affected, offering them a risk-free way to review their options.

Myth #5: Patients and Clients Would Rather Stick With Their Existing Credit Cards

It’s true that some people may be hesitant to open up new credit cards at the point of sale, but CareCredit works differently than other credit cards.

Fact: 95% of surveyed cardholders ranked the CareCredit credit card as "good to excellent value."⁴

CareCredit is not the same as other credit cards since it’s a dedicated health and wellness card that offers access to special financing options. Cardholders can use the card and its benefits again and again without having to reapply.

What’s more, CareCredit can actually help you retain and build loyalty, as 45% of cardholders reused CareCredit in the same practice or retailer within the same year (2023).

Myth #6: Patients and Clients With Insurance Aren't Interested in CareCredit

Depending on the type of practice or business you have and the services you offer, it’s possible that a good portion of expenses might be covered by health or pet insurance. However, what about situations in which patients or clients are faced with out-of-pocket costs they can’t pay in one lump sum?

Fact: CareCredit can be used to pay out-of-pocket costs like copays, coinsurance, deductibles and treatments not covered by insurance.

Even people with excellent health or pet insurance might have some out-of-pocket expenses to pay. And some elective health and wellness services are not covered by insurance at all.

Cardholders can use CareCredit to pay for these expenses over time, which may help them avoid putting off the care they want or need. And cardholders who have Pets Best pet insurance can actually use their coverage benefits and CareCredit credit card in tandem. Here’s how it works:

1. Client pays for vet care with their CareCredit credit card at a CareCredit network provider.
2. Client files a claim with Pets Best.
3. Client is reimbursed directly to their CareCredit credit card for all eligible expenses from Pet's Best.

Learn More: See how CareCredit and Pets Best pet insurance work together.

Myth #7: Most People Think of CareCredit as Just for Health and Wellness Costs

While CareCredit is offered by a variety of healthcare providers, if you have a health and wellness practice that falls outside the confines of traditional healthcare, this is an option you can offer your patients or clients as well.

Fact: CareCredit is accepted in more than 285,000 provider and retail locations, across 50 health and wellness specialties: dental, vet, cosmetic care (including med spas and day spas), vision, hearing, behavioral healthcare and more.

Many areas of health and wellness often include elective services that may not be covered, or fully covered, by insurance. Oftentimes, patients and clients could benefit from having financing options. Here are some examples:

• Over half of ophthalmology patients surveyed (56%) said they struggle to pay out-of-pocket costs.¹
• Only 35% of med spa patients and clients surveyed said they were offered any type of financing or payment plan.¹
• Synchrony’s Pet Lifetime of Care Study revealed that 53% of pet owners surveyed said they would use a credit card dedicated to financing care for their pet.⁵

"Offering the CareCredit credit card to all of our patients allows for us to include an incredibly large demographic of patients to our practice. We have a fair amount of patients that come into our practice who are already CareCredit credit card holders that will ask if we offer CareCredit as financing, which makes our practice that much more attractive to those patients."
— Meg Bjorklund, Director, OVO LASIK + LENS in St. Louis Park, Minnesota

Learn More: Watch how CareCredit can help empower your patients to move forward with care and provide value to your practice.

MYTH #8: CareCredit Costs Too Much for My Practice or Business

While you might assume that incorporating a new payment solution into your practice or business would be costly, it’s important to dig into the numbers and consider the potential return on investment.

Fact: Offering CareCredit can help drive cash flow and increase overall revenue while simplifying compliance.

With CareCredit, there are no surprise expenses. CareCredit merchant fees are transparent and consistent, and there are no annual fees.

And while there is an associated cost, CareCredit can help attract new patients or clients and encourage repeat visits. For instance, among vet care clients, new cardholders used CareCredit more than three times in their first year.

Myth #9: It Will Take a Longer Time to Receive Full Payment

If you create a payment plan for your patients or clients internally, it’s true that you will get paid incrementally over time. But that’s not how CareCredit works for providers.

Fact: When a patient or client pays with CareCredit, your practice or business gets paid within two business days.

When a patient or client uses CareCredit to finance a payment to your practice or business, you get the agreed-upon total payment right away. The financial relationship then shifts so that the patient or client pays CareCredit directly. Any late or missed payments will be handled by CareCredit, taking the collections burden off your administrative team.

Myth #10: If My Patient or Client Doesn't Pay Their Credit Card Bills, It Will Negatively Affect My Business.

With in-house payment plans, a patient's or client's failure to pay on time may result in losses or hardship for your practice or business. Fortunately, that's not how it works with CareCredit.

Fact: Even if a cardholder defaults on their payments to CareCredit, your practice or business still gets paid.

CareCredit is a non-recourse program, so if a cardholder delays payment or fails to make their payments, your practice or business is not held responsible.* Your practice or business receives payment from CareCredit within two business days of the transaction, and then there's no longer a need to worry about collection efforts pertaining to that patient or client interaction.

Get More Facts About CareCredit

With so many other responsibilities on your plate — first and foremost, the care of your patients or clients — it’s understandable if some of these myths might have shaped your perception of CareCredit. However, now that you’re armed with the facts, you are in a better position to decide if it’s a good solution for your practice or business.

Learn More: For an additional way to share this information with your team, view our downloadable CareCredit Myths vs. Facts sheet.

A Patient Financing Solution for Health and Wellness Providers

If you are looking for a way to connect your patients 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 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, your practice or business will be paid directly within two business days.

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

Author Bio

Dawn Papandrea is a journalist with more than two decades of experience covering personal finance and consumer issues. She has written for leading financial publications and organizations, including U.S. News & World Report, Investopedia, Bankrate and others.

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