Choosing the Right Patient Financing Plan For Your Office Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director Dentaltown Magazine
Kim Crawford, Editor

Choosing the right patient financing plan for your office can be challenging. There are many considerations including the demographics of your practice, how to measure success, where responsibility falls (dentist or patient) if the patient defaults and much more. To make your decision easier, we asked several patient-financing companies to provide us with information regarding their programs.

DT: How do I know if my patient financing program is a success? What numbers are important?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
A successful patient financing program will result in a strong, consistent approval rate, cost effective practice fees and increased treatment acceptance. In addition, sufficient training and support must be provided enabling the office to gain the comfort level necessary to implement and administer. It is very important that the practice utilize the program consistently as the practice’s first lending program for a sufficient period of time, based on application submission, to truly measure the performance of the program. A sufficient sampling is key for an accurate measurement.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
With AFS, you will know if its patient financing program is a success if there are: an increase in production per patient, reduced cancellations in the office and a minimum of 30% growth in production.

CareCredit:
Increased treatment acceptance, increased practice production and decreased Accounts Receivable (A/R) Aging. Patient satisfaction and word-of-mouth referrals increase as well. Data from the Academy of Dental Certified Public Accountants indicates that practices using CareCredit increase their practice production by over 25% and reduce their A/R Aging by over 37%. Analysis also indicates that treatment acceptance is significantly increased for implants, oral surgery and restorative treatment.

Citi Health Card:
Success is driven by consistently offering patient financing to all of your patients. If you choose to offer financing only to patients as a last resort, you are missing opportunities to increase treatment acceptance through a widely accepted payment option while also providing a value-added service. Approval rates are the most important area to review. Many factors come into play to quantify success including consistency of offering financing, geographic economics and patient need, to name a few. With these factors you can see approval rates ranging anywhere from 20–90%.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Unicorn understands patient financing can have a very positive effect on your practice’s bottom line. To help you measure success, Unicorn provides daily online reports to track all activity (application count, approvals, fundings, list of patients with open lines of credit) to help you analyze your results. These comprehensive reports can be transferred to Excel spreadsheets and then printed. Recently, Unicorn developed an interactive computer worksheet for practices to set application and funding goals versus actual activity. A successful practice should finance 10-25% of its revenue. These helpful reports and spreadsheets are available at no additional cost to Unicorn clients.

DT: Can patients be pre-approved?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
ALL Care does not offer a pre-approval program. The company discovered that a pre-approval program was too inaccurate and potential approvals were “pre-approved” as declines.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
Yes.

CareCredit:
Yes!

Citi Health Card:
Pre-approval is not available at this time. Standard application processing via phone, online or through DENTRIX Version 11 or Easy Dental 2005 practice management software is available.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Certainly. Practices can get patients approved for a credit line before their appointment by submitting an application online, by fax or phone. In addition, Unicorn will work (with) practices to provide pre-approved marketing lists of patients within their geographic area should a practice wish to include pre-approval in its marketing.

DT: Will your representatives come to my office for training, or do I contact them by phone?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
ALL Care utilizes the Internet to conduct an engaging, interactive training session with all members of the staff that will be involved in the process. We conduct training immediately upon acceptance into the program and will conduct as often as necessary to train new staff and to provide refresher courses for current staff.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
Both (office visit or phone) options are available at the convenience of the dental office.

CareCredit:
CareCredit offers complimentary, personalized training for all practices either in person at the office or by phone. Most training is conducted at the practice by an experienced dental professional. Ongoing training and support is available to all practices.

Citi Health Card:
Most training is done effectively by phone since the Citi Health Card program was designed to be simple and easy for practices to implement. This way your trainer is available when you need him/her including during your first transaction.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Training is available in office and by phone depending on the location of the practice. Training by phone can be completed using an interactive conference Web service to enhance implementation of patient financing with your staff.

DT: Describe the nature and frequency of training provided to our office.

ALL Care Patient Financing:
ALL Care providers are immediately assigned a single point of contact who conducts immediate and on-going training. This representative will pro-actively contact the practice to answer any questions and assist the practice in maximizing the program. Upon enrollment practices receive a welcome kit which contains: a reference manual, Quick Reference Cards that review the program administration, financing options available and important contact information, as well as a plans & payment chart to aid the office in discussing plan options with patients. In addition, the following marketing pieces are also mailed to the practice: counter signage that informs patients of the availability of payment plans and a patient-friendly brochure that explains the program and plans to the consumer and answers the most commonly asked questions.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
The nature of training is as much, as often and as quickly as needed. Training is also ongoing and unlimited, dependent upon the goals of the doctor and the experience of the staff.

CareCredit:
Initial training occurs immediately after enrollment. Ongoing, complimentary training and training for new office managers is provided as needed.

Citi Health Card:
Comprehensive training is provided to all new providers. Training is provided when they begin the program as well as upon request for refresher or new employee training. Ongoing support is available at any time.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Upon enrollment, Unicorn provides initial and ongoing training and support for the staff. The practice has the assistance of both a qualified sales representative and an account support person at its service. Ongoing training includes sharing successful practice management tips, reviewing application and funding activity reports and implementing strategies to grow your bottom line with Unicorn’s patient financing.

DT: What can I expect them to teach my office staff?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
During training we concentrate on: program administration, including a walk through of the Web site, clear explanations of the financing plans available to patients and how the office can cost effectively utilize them and, the benefits of ALL Care to the practice and its patients. Additionally a large portion of the training is dedicated to discussing financing options with patients. Sample scripts are reviewed and key elements of a successful presentation are discussed.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
How to use financial arrangements to maximize production.

CareCredit:
CareCredit’s training is very comprehensive and covers everything practices need to know to use financing effectively and obtain the most value from its program. It’s broken down into simple steps like: presenting payment plans, submitting applications, and processing transactions.

Citi Health Card:
Trainers will cover the basic benefits and options of the Citi Health Card patient financing program. How to process new accounts and submit monetary transactions for payment. They will also share how to best present patient financing in the office.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Many staff members feel uncomfortable speaking about money with patients so Unicorn has developed training tools to help staff members feel comfortable and confident when presenting financing to their patients. Unicorn will train your staff on how easy it is to submit applications, utilize all of the available tools so more patients say “yes” to (their) treatment plans and access Unicorn-Online to track all activity and patients with open lines of credit to spend in your practice.

DT: Describe the practice support and educational materials provided. (These can include scripting, payment calculators, online resources, educational materials, chart forms, etc.)

ALL Care Patient Financing:
ALL Care providers are immediately assigned a single point of contact who conducts immediate and on-going training. This representative will proactively contact the practice to answer any questions and assist the practice in maximizing the program. Upon enrollment practices receive a welcome kit which contains: a reference manual, Quick Reference Cards that review the program administration, financing options available and important contact information, as well as a plans & payment chart to aid the office in discussing plan options with patients. In addition, the following marketing pieces are also mailed to the practice: counter signage that informs patients of the availability of payment plans and a patient friendly brochure that explains the program and plans to the consumer and answers the most commonly asked questions.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
Ongoing, individual support. All necessary support is done either in person, online, via manuals or over the phone. All materials are supplied, i.e. account managers, written, audio and visual aids.

CareCredit:
CareCredit provides a resource center for enrolled practices, including: presentation scripts, payment calculators, practice presentation materials, educational materials and more.

Citi Health Card:
On enrollment, providers receive a comprehensive “Welcome” kit that includes all materials to get started: patient applications; point of sale brochures (market specific); display tent cards; static cling acceptance sticker; payment presentation charts to be used with the patient for effective presentation; office quick reference guide on program plans, contact information and processing; minimum payment charts; training and processing guide. Online accessibility is provided for easy supply ordering, downloadable versions of training tools, payment presentation forms and Web marketing tools, including a sample Web page.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Unicorn has designed easy-to-use tools to help your staff successfully implement patient financing at every step with your patients. Educational materials include scripting for handling phone shoppers and fee presentation, interactive online payment option worksheets and proven methods to successfully follow-up with patients who have not committed to move forward with their treatment. Other materials include free Web banners, customized patient brochure stands to communicate acceptable methods of payment in your practice, monthly payment guides, an online resource of practice management articles about patient financing and daily online activity reports which can be accessed on Unicorn’s Web site. All of these valuable tools are available at no charge to Unicorn clients.

DT: Are plans offered selectively to patients based on their credit scores or are all plans available to all patients?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
All financing plans are made available to every approved patient, regardless of treatment amount. During training and beyond ALL Care will work with the office to cost effectively make these plans available to patients.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
All plans are customized per credit score.

CareCredit:
All plans are available to all patients at all times and are not based on credit scores.

Citi Health Card:
For best results financing should be consistently presented with all treatment plans. Once a patient is approved for the Citi Health Card account they are eligible for any of its plans that the office chooses to make available to them.

Unicorn Financial Services:
All approved patients are offered the payment plans which the practice has selected to participate in. Unicorn offers a wide array of choices to the practice, including 6, 12 and 18 months no-interest financing and extended payment plans.

DT: What is the best way to present outside financing to my patients? Should I quote a fee for the entire case, the monthly payment or simply offer it as a payment option?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
A successful treatment plan should include a review of payment methods accepted by the office. During this review, the approximate monthly payment should be provided to the patient first. During this review a visual tool has proven to be extremely effective. Practice staff can utilize the ALL Care patient brochure that outlines the financing options available and answers the most commonly asked questions by patients. By providing the patient with a monthly payment figure first, you are making his/her treatment financially feasible to them and they will be more likely to accept the best recommended treatment and potentially opt for cosmetic work.

If the patient expresses interest in a payment plan, the application should be presented and completed by the patient. Once approved for the program the financing options being offered to the patient should be discussed and decided upon.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
Cost is not an issue when making the treatment affordable by offering monthly payments as a payment option.

CareCredit:
CareCredit is ideally presented as a financial option, along with all other options (cash, check, credit card), at the time the case is presented. During this discussion, the financial coordinator can easily use CareCredit’s patient payment chart to review the plans and corresponding monthly payments. The payment chart is available in hard copy and online. Referencing this chart helps both the practice and the patient choose what plan is best for that patients’ individual needs. Customized payment calculators are also available for this purpose.

Citi Health Card:
For best results financing should be consistently presented with treatment plans. Quote the entire fee and explain the affordability of monthly payments utilizing patient financing. Fully informing your patient puts them in the best position to decide how to manage his/her financial situation.

Unicorn Financial Services:
There are four keys to presenting patient financing. 1) Offer patient financing to every patient. 2) Set payment expectations before services are rendered. 3) Choose the right environment to discuss fees and payment. 4) Use a written patient financing options worksheet. The payment option worksheet displays the fee and all of the available payment options so the patient can make a decision while in your office.

Questions from our Patients:
DT: How many plans are available and how does the interest rate compare to my consumer credit cards?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
ALL Care offers patients 3, 6 and 12 month interest-free options. In addition, the company offers an extended payment option that allows the patient to take up to four years to repay his/her treatment at a fixed annual percentage rate (APR) of 8.9%.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
Plans are designed around affordability for the patient. The doctor chooses whether to charge interest and if he (or she) chooses to charge interest, it will be similar to a credit card rate.

CareCredit:
CareCredit offers four no-interest plans (3, 6, 12 and 18 months) as well as three long-term, low-interest plans (24, 36 and 48 months) at a low fixed 9.9% interest rate, regardless of the credit worthiness of the patient.

Citi Health Card:
No Interest Payment plans for 3, 6, 12 and 18 months are available. A Budget Payment Plan is also available for 48 months with a 12.96% APR (interest rate to the patient). No Interest plans are hands down the preferred payment plans of choice. If the balance is paid in full before the expiration of the promotional period, the patient pays 0% APR (interest to the patient.) With fixed-rate consumer credit being reported by bankrate.com as of July 27, 2005 between 9.95% APR and 13.30% APR, for credit qualified applicants the Budget Payment Plan with a fixed rate at 12.96% APR can be appealing to patients who prefer longer terms with a fixed rate.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Much like a credit card, Unicorn’s interest rates to account holders are based on the credit history of the patient and are competitive with other credit cards and patient finance companies. In addition, Unicorn’s no-interest financing plans are interest free provided the patient makes prompt payment.

DT: What happens if I default or make late payments?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
Accounts that default are subjected to an increase in APR to the default rate, currently 21%. Late payments are subjected to late payment fees.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
If payments are late, you will receive collection calls.

CareCredit:
Standard credit card collection procedures apply; however, because CareCredit is a no-recourse program, the doctor/practice is not liable should the patient default.

Citi Health Card:
A payment is considered late if received after the payment due date. If you make late payments we add a late fee to the regular revolve credit plan balance for each billing period you fail to pay. This fee is based on your account balance as of the date the late fee is added and is $29 on balances up to $1,000, and $35 on balances of $1,000 and over.

You are considered in default if you fail to make two consecutive payment due dates. See our application terms and conditions for full disclosures detailing the full impact of default at https://www.ecardapply.com/citihealth/web/application.asp.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Like credit cards and other patient finance companies, Unicorn will access fees when payments are not timely.

DT: Are applications or customer care offered in any other languages?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
Yes, customer service representatives are available for those requiring a language other than English. When mandated by state law, materials are available in the appropriate language.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
The doctor is responsible for communicating to the patient.

CareCredit:
Applications, customer support, statements and payment charts are available in both English and Spanish.

Citi Health Card:
Applications are in English. Customer Care is provided in both English and Spanish.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Unicorn can accommodate customers in both English and Spanish.

DT: Can I apply for credit from my home phone or computer? Can I use a co-signer?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
Patients can apply for the ALL Care program through our Web site. Yes, co-signers are accepted.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
Applying for credit is done at the doctor’s office. A co-signer can be used.

CareCredit:
Yes, both (phone and online registration) are available. Yes, you may use a co-signer.

Citi Health Card:
Yes, you can apply from either your home phone or online. You cannot use a co-signer, but authorized buyers can be added to your account.

Unicorn Financial Services:
A patient can conveniently choose to apply online, and by fax or phone. A co-signer is also acceptable and does not have to be a household member.

DT: Once I’ve paid off the charge from my treatment, do I have to re-apply for new treatments?

ALL Care Patient Financing:
No. Because the ALL Care program provides patients with a revolving line of credit, you can always use your available line to pay for additional treatment.

American Financial Services, Inc.:
This is under the doctor’s control.

CareCredit:
No, CareCredit is a revolving line of credit, meaning you do not have to reapply and the available credit can be used for the entire family’s needs. CareCredit can also be used for other healthcare needs, visit us online for more details.

Citi Health Card:
No, you use your card for additional treatments at any time, at any participating provider.

Unicorn Financial Services:
Re-applying is not necessary because Unicorn provides a revolving line of credit which is open and available for subsequent use by the account holder and all authorized household members.