How Medical Credit Cards can Help Cut the Cost of Medical Expenses
Posted by David Schneider | November 19, 2007

Sadly enough, millions of Americans are without health care. Even more disturbing is that there doesn’t seem to be a fix anywhere in sight from the government on how to deal with the continuing rise in medical expenses. Out of pocket costs for medical expenses seem to continue to rise, and Americans are left holding the bills to prove it. For some though, a solution, albeit a temporary one until this nation’s government comes to a solution for the health care crisis, is to use medical credit cards to buffer the blow of rising medical expenses.

What a Medical Credit Card Is

There are essentially two different kinds of medical credit cards. One type is fairly new and is issued as part of your health insurance through your employer. These cards are gaining in popularity because your employer and you contribute to an account (Flexible Spending Account or FSA). Your portion is directly debited from your paycheck and typically, your employer matches a portion if not all of that amount. From there, you are issued a debit or credit card that you can swipe when paying for doctor office visit co-payments, dental and even vision services.

The other type of medical credit card is just like any other type of credit card. It is an open line of credit that is used to pay medical expenses. These types of credit cards carry an interest rate just like any other kind of credit card. It is possible to find decent rate by shopping around and just searching for “medical credit cards” in a web search. This type of card can be issued from any of the major credit card lenders such as Visa or MasterCard.

When you run into a situation where your insurance won’t cover the medical expense, a medical credit card comes in handy for covering the unexpected, the elective or even the emergency situation that typical health insurance doesn’t take care of. If you are using a FSA medical credit card to cut the cost of medical expenses, you use the card in place of cash for pretty much everything from contact solution to outpatient surgery. Since money has already been put away in an FSA account, there is no worry about how to pay for a procedure or needed medication.

How Medical Credit Cards can Work

Likewise, a medical credit card with an open line of credit, such as one you would get from Visa, works in the same way a standard credit card works. Anyone carrying a medical credit card can easily pay for procedures or anything health care related at the time of service. You will then get a bill with your next statement just as you would with your typical credit card. Many doctors, hospitals and clinics are accepting medical credit cards as an efficient way to pay for services.

Valuable Resource for Cutting Medical Costs

Though there is no sure fire way to cut your medical expenses, having a medical credit card can make things a little less stressful for you, especially in times of emergency or if you are one of the millions of Americans still uninsured. Here is just a sample of some of the relief having a credit card dedicated to cutting your medical costs can give:

• Convenience — Once your procedure is finished, you only need to be concerned with paying your monthly statement. You can pay upfront for most medical expenses.
• Automatic reimbursement — You may not have to wait for reimbursement after using your card. Some FSA cards now offer reimbursement within days of using the card.

All in all the convenience of a medical credit card helps people cut the costs of medical expenses by being able to avoid out of pocket costs that emergencies incur and be able to get other essential services and items that insurance may not cover.