Many offices provide both third-party financing, like CareCredit, and in-house financing, as well as a percentage discount for patients who pre-pay for treatment. The problem? If a patient does both, you are taking a double hit. To avoid this, I recommend making the options mutually exclusive. This minor change can save you a lot of money over time.
Here is how such an offer should be presented to a patient:
"Mrs. Jones, we can absolutely obtain financing for your treatment for as low as $99 a month.
Or, if you would prefer to pay for your treatment in full, you’ll receive the 10% ($500) savings that comes with that option. What sounds like the better option for you?"
Remember, when you finance the expense of treatment, there’s a cost to the business. You must wait for the money and assume the risk of potential losses from default accounts. It does not make sense to allow patients to get a discount on top of that as well.
Other miscellaneous modifications you might consider making to financing include:
- Increasing minimums
- Adding an administrative fee
- Reducing more costly payment options. For example, cut the 24 month 15% CareCredit option and only offer the 18 month or less option.
- Moving long-term payment options to third-party administrators (team time is valuable).