Daniel Cook
BUSINESS ADVISOR
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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4
The New Rules for CareCredit Cards
Will a more burdensome application process help protect patients?
B
y now, you've probably heard the news about CareCredit, the
healthcare credit card company that the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau fined $34.1 million for "unfair and deceptive
enrollment and disclosure practices." In making the first public
enforcement action against deferred-interest products, the CFPB
alleges that patients signed up for CareCredit cards thinking they
were interest-free and unaware that accruing interest kicked in if the
full balance wasn't paid in full at the end of promotional periods rang-
ing from 6 to 24 months.
The CFPB has imposed a potentially burdensome application
process. CareCredit is now required to:
• enhance disclosures of the deferred-interest plan on applications
and billing statements;
• warn patients in advance when the promotional period is ending;
and
• contact patients within 72 hours of the initial transaction to explain the
payment plan in detail and directly enroll customers — instead of letting
facilities handle it — for certain transactions of more than $1,000.
There's fallout for you as well. Facilities that use CareCredit must pro-
vide plain-language disclosure forms to patients before they sign up for
the card, and staff who market the cards to patients must undergo
mandatory company-sponsored training.
The staff at the Physicians Care Surgical Hospital in Royersford, Pa.,
emphasizes CareCredit's interest-free grace period every time they men-
tion the card, says Jennifer Ryan, CPC, the hospital's business office
manager. So does Ashley Mamas, CPC, business office manager of the
St. Augustine (Fla.) Surgery Center, who says patients often don't read
every word of what can be confusing credit card applications. Ms.
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