Avid Zhao's routine dental appointment at Western Dental took a turn for the worse when he was pressured into signing up for a medical credit card, ultimately leading to unexpected fees and a hefty debt. Zhao's experience highlights the growing concerns surrounding the use of medical credit cards, especially their potentially deceptive terms and hidden costs.
avid Zhao signed up for a medical credit card while supine in a dentist’s chair, fluoride trays in his mouth. In December 2018, the consumer lawyer from Los Angeles went for a routine dentist appointment at Western Dental in San Mateo, in the suburbs of Northern California. Zhao was told by the dentist that his gums were receding. He needed a special mouthguard or he’d have to have surgery, he recalls being told.
Though the dentist’s office had told Zhao he was signing up for a payment plan with no interest, he says, in fact he had signed up for what’s known as a deferred-interest credit card, which charges no interest on payments during a promotional period, but imposes hefty fees on top of the original payments if the user doesn’t pay off the entire balance within that time. Zhao says he had to take out a chunk of his savings to pay off the card so he wouldn’t be charged 26.99% in deferred interest.
Some cards can come with startling terms and hidden costs, consumer-protection advocates say. If consumers don’t pay off the balance of their card in the promotional period, they are charged all the interest that would have accrued since the original purchase date, at rates that can top 30%. CareCredit is the subject of a lawsuit seeking class-action status that was filed in New York in August 2024. It argues the card’s interest rates—32.
Romero did not pay the bill, because she never even had the procedure. She thought the ordeal was over until September 2024, when she learned she was being sued by Cavalry SPV I LLC, a debt buyer, for unpaid debt. Cavalry says Romero now owes $4,231.82. She plans to contest the debt in Los Angeles court in July 2025. “I was vulnerable because I’m embarrassed about my teeth,” Romero says, “and they took advantage of it.
MEDICAL CREDIT CARDS DEFERRED INTEREST PATIENT FINANCING HEALTHCARE COSTS CONSUMER PROTECTION
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