Dive Brief:
- Siemens Healthcare and CarePayment announced Tuesday a new alliance created to allow Siemens patients access to flexible financing programs through the national financing provider. Patients will be able to take part in programs that include a revolving line of credit for up to 72 months at 0.00% APR rates.
- A press release by CarePayment said the plans will allow people to receive care without worrying about financial obstacles and providers will see a reduction in bad debt. The programs are co-branded with Siemens and CarePayment to make them more patient-friendly.
- According to CarePayment, two out of five Americans struggle to pay medical bills and this debt has been touted as the leading cause of individual bankruptcy. CarePayment reported that a family of four with employer health insurance paid, on average, $3,470 in out-of-pocket healthcare expenses in 2012.
Dive Insight:
"With patients responsible for more of their medical costs, there is a growing affordability gap that is hurting our provider customers and their patients," said Rick Pettine, senior director of business and alliance development for Siemens Healthcare. "We are dedicated to delivering solutions for the entire range of patient care, so teaming up with CarePayment, a leader in patient financing, enables us to provide hospitals and medical practices an option for an effective solution to help close this gap."
Patients' out-of-pocket costs have been increasing for years. Even before implementation of the Affordable Care Act, employers were increasing deductibles. And since the exchanges have come into play, out-of-pocket costs have continued to rise. A report by Millman in May found that people with silver plans may have people paying twice as much for medications as they would under an employer plan.
Want to read more? You may enjoy this story about the inconsistent out-of-pocket costs across the country.