COBB COUNTY, Ga. — From doctors’ offices to med spas and dentists, many medical providers offer medical credit cards to stretch expensive bills out over time.
Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray was live in Cobb County for Channel 2 Action News at 6:00 p.m., where a senior citizen took out a second loan just try to get out of debt to one of those medical credit cards.
Ann Cox, 77, bought dentures at Aspen Dental two years ago. They offered her a finance plan through something called Care Credit.
She reached out to Channel 2 Investigates because of all the extra fees and billing confusion that’s happened since.
Cox says there were so many late payment charges, so many times that Care Credit and Synchrony said her payment didn’t go through, she started faxing proof after every payment.
“I worked for years to pay everything on time. I’m never late with nothing,” she said.
“I have high blood pressure, and I’d get on the phone with them and they’d upset me so bad,” Cox said.
She finally went and took out a second loan of more than $600 to try to pay off the Care Credit bill.
“I borrowed money and I turned around and sent it to them and because that’s what they said I owe,” Cox said.
Third party medical credit cards and loans are growing in popularity with health care providers.
“These are very high interest products with all kinds of fees that can be added on. They are simply bad news,” Channel 2 Consumer Advisor Clark Howard said.
He says customers should look for other options.
“This is one of those things that if you have a good credit score, you already have existing credit. Use it. Don’t ever use one of these things offered,” Howard said.
Earlier this year, Channel 2 Action News Investigates reported how even major nonprofit hospitals Emory University Hospital and Piedmont Hospital are pushing patients to medical credit cards, instead of their own interest free or low interest payment plans.
Now months now after Cox thought she paid off her bill, she still owes money to Care Credit.
“I went to my bank and I told ‘em not to let them get no more money out of my bank account because they’re not due anymore ‘cause I already paid ‘em,” she said.
A Care Credit and Synchrony bank spokesperson told Gray, “We never want a cardholder to have an unfortunate experience.”
They say their customer service team is reaching out to Cox to try to work this out.
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