How To Use Medical Financing To Pay for Top Surgery
Wondering how you'll pay for Top Surgery? In
this article, you’ll find out how medical financing can help you
bridge the gap between your savings and the cost of surgery.
The cost of Top Surgery varies from about
$6000 to $10,000, but can also be as high as $16,000. If you don't
have sufficient savings or insurance
coverage, medical financing can help you come up with this
large upfront cash payment. Even if you have insurance that covers
gender-affirming surgery, you might have to pay a large deductible
or other costs that insurance doesn’t cover. With a medical loan,
you can pay the cost of Top Surgery over time. After you receive
the borrowed money, you’ll make monthly payments until the loan is
paid back in full. You can get a medical loan through
brick-and-mortar financial institutions or from one of many online
lenders.
There are both benefits and drawbacks to using medical financing
to help you pay for Top Surgery. Let’s start with the positives:
- Medical loans tend to have lower interest rates than credit cards and come with a fixed rate so your monthly bill won’t fluctuate.
- With a loan through a medical financing company, you can apply online and get the funds within days of approval — sometimes even as soon as the next business day!
- Most medical loans are unsecured, meaning you don’t have to put up any assets as collateral.
- You can use the borrowed funds for more than just the surgeon’s fee, such as travel or other costs related to your surgery and recovery.
That all sounds good but you should also be aware of the pitfalls of using medical financing:
- Overall, you’ll pay more for your Top Surgery because of the interest added to each monthly payment. Longer loan terms mean lower monthly payments, but you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan.
- If you have a poor credit score, you could end up with a very high interest rate, plus fees. This can have a very negative impact on your finances and can be a difficult situation to get out of.
Whether it's wise to use medical financing to pay for your Top Surgery depends on your personal and financial circumstances and the terms of the financing available to you. If Top Surgery is necessary right now for your health and well-being and delaying it would cause you harm, medical financing may be worth considering. Be sure to carefully review the terms of the financing, including not just interest rates but also repayment periods and other fees. Make sure that you understand the total cost of borrowing and have a plan in place to make timely payments. Monthly payments for Top Surgery will be in the area of $300. If you're unsure about whether or not you can take on the additional debt, it may be helpful to consult with an independent financial advisor.
How To Apply For Medical Financing
- The first step to applying for medical financing is deciding how much you need to borrow. In addition to the estimate you get from your surgeon, consider other expenses related to your surgery such as transportation, accommodation, medical supplies and prescriptions.
- Next, get a credit score report. If there are any errors in the report, get those fixed right away.
- Many medical loan lenders will let you get prequalified, a process that provides you with loan offers without hurting your credit. Go ahead and get quotes from multiple lenders to find the best interest rates, loan terms and conditions. Look for an interest rate that’s below 10%.
- Apply for the loan. A credit check, salary verification and other information will be required. If your loan is approved, you’ll be able to access the funds within 1-7 business days.
Medical Financing Companies
You can apply for medical loans at the following websites:
- CareCredit
- Alphaeon
- Cherry
- Beautifi
- PatientFi
- Prosper
- SoFi
- LightStream
- Avant
- Lending USA
- United Medical Credit
- My Medical Financing
- Advance Care Card
- Med Loan Finance
- Credit Medical (Canada)
Alternatives to Medical Financing
Medical loans can be a good idea if you have a good credit score
(670 and above) and the financial flexibility to pay off the loan.
If you’re not a good candidate for medical financing, you can
explore the following alternatives for ways to come up with the
money to pay for your Top Surgery:
Payment plans: Some surgical practices offer payment plans.
For example, Dr. Hope
Sherie has a payment plan. Find
out how it works here.
Surgery Grants: These
organizations offer grants for gender-affirming surgeries.
Credit cards: You have to be aware of high interest rates,
but credit cards can be a viable option for financing your Top
Surgery, especially if you can find introductory zero-interest
rate offers.
Hospital provided financial assistance: If you’re having
surgery with a surgeon who is employed at an academic medical
center, ask if the hospital offers any financial assistance to
patients.
Retirement savings: If you have a 401(k) retirement savings
account through your employer, you might be able to borrow money
from the account.
Crowdfunding: To execute an effective crowdfunding campaign
you have to ask people for help and this is a skill that not
everyone has. If you’re planning to raise surgery money with
crowdfunding, here
are some best practices.
More Tools and Resources
- CareCredit’s Monthly Payment Calculator
- Considering a Medical Credit Card? Proceed With Caution - by nerdwallet
Last updated: 06/15/24