CSI Financial Services, a provider of loan programs for underinsured and uninsured patients, is implementing a program to improve cash flow generation and collection rates and streamline office administration.
Officials say the program could help make treatment more affordable and save medical facilities up to 40 percent over the cost of a normal collection agency.
This will continue CSI's expansion to the Pacific Northwest market by engaging with a multi-specialty group medical clinic to provide affordable easy-to-qualify-for patient loans.
"The Pacific Northwest is an area of the country hard hit by escalating insurance rates," said Mitch Patridge, chief executive officer of CSI Financial Services. "Additionally, the region's high unemployment and job-loss numbers of the past decade are just now improving. CSI's automated patient loan programs are popular in this region because they address these trends and are beneficial to both the medical facility and its patients."
Under the new program, CSI funded the clinic for the existing patient payment plans. Officials say it provided instant cash infusion and greatly reduced the clinic's workload associated with managing these accounts.
According to CSI, the funding bank agreed to honor existing payment terms, which featured fixed monthly payments and zero interest rates.
New patients who can't pay in full will be eligible to receive bank loans instead of being placed on payment plans. According to CSI, the bank's underwriting standards have been formulated so that a significant percentage of the clinic's patients will qualify for the loans. In accordance with the original internal payment plan at the clinic, patients are not required to complete written applications.
The loan program includes below-market interest rates, low monthly payments, no punitive interest rates and no prepayment penalties. There are no origination or annual fees, and the patient may pay a monthly bill via mail, phone or Internet.
"Healthcare consumers now have more choice than ever before. Multi-specialty group clinics that offer innovative services - including affordable flexible payment options - will be more attractive to consumers in a highly competitive market," Patridge said. "We take pride that our experience and reputation enable us to provide such patient-friendly terms. Nationwide, our loan program has kept many patients and their families from being referred to collection, providing a benefit to the entire community while also saving medical facilities an estimated 30 to 40 percent over the cost of a collection agency."