Patients Warned Against Healthcare Credit Cards
Tuesday August 31, 2010
Be skeptical
Michelle Andrews writes in a column for the Washington Post (8/31), "Thousands of dentists are offering patients healthcare credit cards to cover the work that needs to be done, with seemingly hard-to-resist repayment terms." But, "many of the card companies and some of the practitioners who offer them are under scrutiny for deceptive and sometimes fraudulent practices." She cites investigations by New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, and explains that "many cards promise interest-free borrowing as long as consumers pay off the amount owed within a specified time." But "consumers who don't pay off their debt within that time frame often get hit with interest charges exceeding 25 percent on the entire amount, back to the original date they purchased the services." As an alternative, patients are encouraged to "ask for an extended payment plan."
Continue reading at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/30/AR2010083003971.html
