Brandon Keim
Science

Are Medical Loans the New Subprime Mortgages?

Zero-interest loans for medical procedures are being offered to millions of patients seeking treatments that aren’t covered by insurance (or who don’t have insurance in the first place.) As the New York Times points out, this is only a small part of America’s $900 billion consumer credit industry — but with health care costs rising, […]

Nomoneydown
Zero-interest loans for medical procedures are being offered to millions of patients seeking treatments that aren't covered by insurance (or who don't have insurance in the first place.)

As the New York Times points out, this is only a small part of America's $900 billion consumer credit industry -- but with health care costs rising, medical loans are a high-growth industry.

“As more and more of the costs of care are shifted to consumers, people are going to need more credit,” said Red Gillen, a senior analyst at Celent, an insurance and banking research firm. “They are still going to need health care."

However, because of the subprime mortgage meltdown, zero-interest medical loans won't be given to everyone.

In fact, they are available only to the creditworthy — meaning they offer no help to those among the nation’s 47 million uninsured who are in difficult financial situations.

I guess that's reassuring. On the other hand, millions of people who need treatment won't be able to get loans. What a rotten situation. Good thing we don't have socialized medicine, huh?
Doctors Offering No-Interest Loans to Patients [New York Times]