Oregon Company Promotes a Zero-Interest Medical Card

In an attempt to cut down on hospital bad debt, a Portland, Or.-based company has released the CarePayment card, marketed by Portland-based Aequitas Capital Management Inc. While the card charges hospitals a hefty fee for the service, patients pay nothing extra: no interest and no finance charges.

Aequitas pays the hospitals when patients charge items to the card — after subtracting anywhere from 17 to 20 percent of the patient’s bill. The company then collects the money from the patient, either $25 a month, or 4 percent of the starting balance.

"We offer this to every patient without screening," Steve Wright, a senior managing director with Aequitas, told The Oregonian. "If you owe the hospital money, you qualify for CarePayment."

The system works for both hospitals and patients. Hospitals accrue less bad debt, and patients are given an interest-free way to pay for procedures.

The program hasn’t been embraced by everyone. Some consumer advocates remain concerned that when financial services companies insert themselves between patients and hospitals, patients can miss out on better options. Mark Rukavina, executive director of the Access Project, said a patient encouraged to use a credit card might overlook the option of a sliding fee scale or other price break from a care provider.