Patients can segregate expenses
The latest addition to the extensive "self-pay menu" offered by Marlton, NJ-based Virtua Health is the General Electric medical credit card program, says Stuart Schiffman, assistant vice president for patient business services. The card, known as Care Credit, provides a payment option for the uninsured, as well as helping with the copays and deductibles that insured patients must cover, he adds. "People may want to segregate their medical expenses," Schiffman explains.
Interest-free option catches on
The terms are similar to those of department store credit cards, but if the balance is paid within a certain period of time, there is no interest, he says. The idea is to provide a customer service option and help increase point-of-service cash collections, Schiffman notes.
The credit card was offered initially in late March 2005 to scheduled surgical patients, adds Diane Mastalski, corporate multisite administrator for patient business services, and within about a month, "we had seen applications at every site except one. "We’re looking at doing Phase 2, which will include our ancillary areas, like the dental clinic, that see a lot of self-pay patients," she adds.
In the physical therapy clinic, which collects patient copays of $15, $20, or $30, three or four times a week, the card could be particularly helpful, Mastalski says. "Say you’re scheduled for 10 treatments over a four-week period. We can offer the option of spreading those payments out over four months, with no interest," she points out.
There is no interest on the GE credit card for 90 days if the bill is more than $300, and that period extends to 120 days if the bill is more than $700, Mastalski notes, adding that charges of less than $300 must be put on a standard credit card. "We’re getting ready to roll out letters to our cosmetic surgery patients and include an application for the credit card," she continues.
"They can [complete the application] on-line, or we’ll take the information over the phone. Patients have the option to pay at a lower rate than with most of the other cards," Mastalski adds.
The latest addition to the extensive self-pay menu offered by Marlton, NJ-based Virtua Health is the General Electric medical credit card program, says Virtua's assistant vice president for patient business services.
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