Self Pay Loan Options

[Jennifer W 1]

I am having my surgery April 5, 2011 at True Results in Austin, TX. The self-pay price is $9,900 which includes a year of post-op visits and fills. My insurance absolutely will not cover bariatric surgery so I am taking out loans. Care credit approved me for $3,500 but at a ridiculous APR of 26%..I refuse to pay that. My credit union approved me for $5,000 at 13.9%, which I'm willing to pay. I just paid off my credit cards so I am thinking that I will re-apply with care credit in a few weeks when that hits my credit report and maybe they will give me more money at a lower interest rate. Does anyone else have any suggestions for places or companies that finance medical expenses? I am just trying to get the lowest interest rate to keep my payments reasonably low. I do have student loans, mortgage, 2 car payments, etc. so I want to keep my payment under control. Any advice any one has is greatly appreciated.

[honk 780]

Okay, I have a thought but I don't want people jumping me. First I am a very fiscally responsible person. When I bought my house I spent a lot less money then the bank said I could afford. Would it possible for you to take out a home equity loan? Though admittedly you would have to have enough equity built up to cover that.

[HeatherinCA 10]

My credit is good, and they still wouldn't approve me for all of it, my parents took part and I took part, but I ended up just switching insurance to get it covered. It was a better deal to pay $450 a month for a PPO than to pay for health insurance, and for the loans.

I have no idea where else you could go, it's pretty hard to get financing for anything these days because of the banking crisis and recession.

[Jennifer W 1]

My husband and I also spent less on our house than we were approved for, but unfortunately, we just bought our house 9 months ago, the house was appraised for more than what we paid, but not much. I don't think a home equity loan is an option. My parents don't want anymore debt in their name so I won't even consider asking, my car is already in their name. I'm hoping care credit will lower my APR in a few weeks when I contact them and hopefully they will see that my credit score went up since I paid my credit cards off.

[dsquared79 1]

Hi Jennifer,

I too am having my lap band done at True Results of Austin (March 22nd). However, I'm going through my insurance. Have you thought about doing a term loan through a bank? My sister went that route when she had to pay for her Invisalign (sp?) and she went through Chase bank... just a thought.

best of luck!

[BJLHouston 0]

I'm not sure if it applies to you, but Care Credit does offer extended term financing at 14.9%. Here is the link:

Care Credit Extended Payment Plan

[isit5yet 37]

I think the 14% APR for the Care Credit extended plan is if you qualify for that rate.

My total cost was 16K. We put 5K down in cash (check) from saving, then put 11K on Care Credit. I used the Care Credit 0% APR plan with the 6 month payoff plan. I was going to do the 18 months 0% apr plan, but I found out the day of my pre-op appointment that my surgeon's office only accepted the 6 month 0% plan. I was totally screwed, so I selected the 6 months option. The payment was going to be around $1,800/month.

After the snafu, my husband applied for a credit card with no balance transfer fee and 12 months no interest on balance transfers. These types of plans are only available if your credit is accepted.

Now we have 12 months to pay it off and we make a $950 monthly payment to get it paid off in 12 months before the interest rate kicks in. We redid out monthly budget and it will workout. We'll just go out to eat less, which will normally happen anyway

Hope this info helps!

-Carrie

[Jennifer W 1]

Thanks for all the great ideas and options. I am happy to announce my credit union approved me for the full amount at a much lower interest rate than care credit and my payment is only gonna be about $230/mo, so I am very pleased with that! Surgery date is april 5th, can't wait!!! Thanks again everybody

[BJLHouston 0]

That's awesome...congrats!

[smilinggirl 1]

I know how stressful it can be when arranging payment. I am doing self-pay and got a personal loan from my credit union. I opted to do my payments over 3 years so I don't make myself too tight financially. I do plan on paying it back sooner. This option was a smarter choice over carrying a credit card balance. Congrats on your arrangement. I know it is difficult to decide to have surgery, nevermind deciding on how to make it a reality. Best of luck!