Debunked! The Persistent Myths About Patient Financing
For over a decade, Alphaeon Patient Financing has worked to address the tensions that arise between two delicate issues: the care patients need and how they are going to pay for it.
Most practices certainly don’t need a headline to tell them the obvious: patients are more financially stretched than ever, and elective medical care is colliding with households running on thinner margins. As of 2025, over two-thirds of Americans (67%) are living paycheck to paycheck, up from about 63% in 2024, according to PNC Bank’s Financial Wellness in the Workplace Report.
Yet despite these numbers, patients and practices often have misunderstandings about patient financing - both what it is and how it works. Patient financing myths and healthcare financing misconceptions abound and can keep patients from accessing care.
Some see patient financing as a last resort for “risky” patients. Others worry it will damage credit scores, or assume offering financing will make the practice seem pushy or sales-driven. These claims don’t just cloud decision-making; they can quietly block patients from accessing care they want and need.
In the last decade, we’ve answered these questions so many times that they’re no longer just misconceptions: they’ve become elaborate myths. Like the history of the Trojan War, they’ve been passed on by tradition and now form the basis of how patients and practices understand their situation.
While archaeologists may have found the fallen city of Troy, there’s a lot less fact to most of the things patients and practices say about financing. Happily, most of these myths are either misrepresentations or entirely false.
In this article, we’d like to quickly and plainly slay some of these common patient financing myths for providers. We’ll explain and disambiguate any shred of truth behind them and leave you with a new understanding of how patient financing can be used as your practice’s secret tool to help you help more patients and strengthen your patient communication with the best practices for financing.
Myth #1
Patient Financing is only for people with bad credit or who can’t afford the care.
Rating: FALSE!
Many elective healthcare providers believe that offering patient financing means catering only to patients who have subpar credit or who are financially desperate. This is simply not accurate. Assuming it is can lead practices to miss out on a significant portion of patients who can afford care, but prefer flexible payment options.
Alphaeon Patient Financing is built intentionally to cater to a broad spectrum of credit profiles and budgets, offering multiple financing options from prime to subprime in one application.
Remember, only 40% of Americans say they could afford a surprise $1000 expense. For many patients, financing may be the difference between saying “Yes, now!” and “Maybe, later…”
And even high and middle-income households may prefer to spread payments rather than pay a lump sum upfront. For those eligible for “no-interest if paid in full” options, financing just makes sense! It allows patient to hold onto their cash during uncertain economic times.
In short, financing is not an indicator that a patient is “risky,” or that they can’t afford your practice’s care. (That’s a persistent healthcare financing misconception.) Patient financing is a tool that gives patients a choice, and it’s a path for them to access the care they need now.
Myth #2
Applying for financing will hurt a patient's credit score.
Rating: ALMOST ENTIRELY FALSE!
This is one of the most persistent patient financing myths and one that often stops patients from even exploring their options. Many assume that any application for credit automatically damages their score. In reality, any impact, when and if it occurs, is minor, temporary, and conditional.
At Alphaeon Credit, prequalification is a soft credit inquiry. A “soft hit” has zero impact on a patient’s credit score. It’s visible only to the consumer and not to other lenders. This is why prequalification is a no-risk step, an important point to make when talking to patients about financing! With soft-hit prequalification, patients can see whether they are likely to be approved and for how much without impacting their credit score in any way.
A hard inquiry, used only during the final application, may cause a small, temporary dip of a few points. Even then, the effect typically fades within a few months. Independent research backs this up. According to Experian, a single hard inquiry generally lowers a credit score by less than five points, and “for many people, the change is so small that it doesn’t impact their ability to qualify for credit”. Experian also notes that inquiries count for only 10% of the FICO score calculation — a relatively minor factor compared to payment history and credit utilization.
Most importantly, the inquiry itself is not what meaningfully shapes a credit score — the account that’s opened afterward is what really matters. Responsible use, like making on-time payments, can actually improve a patient’s credit history over time.
So, patients who want to improve their credit scores, take note: the best way is to take out reasonable financing and make on-time, regular payments. Doing so will improve credit scores and make future financing even easier to obtain.
Myth #3
Offering financing is complicated, risky, and a regulatory headache.
Rating: FALSE!
Some practices hesitate to offer patient financing because they imagine it will add administrative burden, create compliance risk, or require staff to become mini-loan officers. In reality, modern patient-financing platforms, especially Alphaeon Patient Financing, are built to eliminate friction so practices can focus on care, and not on paperwork.
The idea that offering financing is “complicated” often comes from outdated experiences with legacy credit providers. But with Alphaeon Credit, the process is intentionally streamlined: simple digital applications, fast decisions, and no need for your staff to manage approvals, payments, collections, or compliance steps. The entire financial relationship stays between the patient and Alphaeon, not the practice.
And when questions do arise, practices aren’t left to their own devices. Alphaeon’s Practice Support Hotline is staffed 24/7 by Alphaeon employees who help teams with processing applications, answering product questions, scheduling staff training on payment plans, and offering patient financing best practices in real time. Whether you need to schedule a training for new front desk staff or clarify a financing scenario, your team can get answers immediately, no phone trees, no lost emails, no guesswork.
Myth #4
Patients don’t trust a practice if they offer financing.
Rating: NOT ONLY WRONG, BUT THE OPPOSITE!
When a patient sees that an external financing partner has approved them, three things happen:
Validation — The patient interprets the approval as evidence they can move ahead, which shifts the conversation from “Can I afford this?” to “How do we proceed?”
Confidence — Because the financing comes via a third-party, the patient views the offer as objective rather than practice-driven, reducing perceptions of upselling.
Activation — When payment options are clear and pre-approved, patients are more likely to schedule or begin treatment.
Offering patient financing isn’t a liability; it can actually help patients overcome objections.
Financing through a reputable third-party also strengthens the patient’s trust. For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has studied medical-credit products and warns of practices that sidestep protections; when a practice partners with a regulated lender, the patient benefits from transparency, clear disclosures, and external oversight. The Alphaeon Credit Card is backed by Comenity Bank, which serves 50 million customers and is the issuing bank for dozens of popular brands like Ann Taylor, Express, AAA, Lane Bryant, and Ulta Beauty.
This is why we recommend that patients be encouraged to prequalify for financing regardless of their situation. A third-party approval gives a patient the confidence to move forward with the care they need and the care your doctors prescribe.
Myth #5
Patient Financing doesn’t matter. Patients either move forward or they don’t.
Rating: FALSE AND COSTLY!
This belief is common—but it’s also one of the most costly. Many practices assume that patients make a simple yes/no decision based only on the desire for care. In reality, a large percentage of patients fall into a third category: they want the treatment, they trust the provider, but the upfront cost feels difficult.
According to a recent Bankrate survey, 73% of Americans say they’re saving less for unexpected expenses than they were a year ago. This means many households simply don’t have the liquidity to absorb a significant cost.
However, when patients see clear, predictable monthly payments (especially after a painless soft-hit prequalification), the decision becomes manageable rather than overwhelming. Instead of walking away or delaying care, patients can confidently move forward.
For practices, financing has a measurable impact: higher case acceptance, larger average treatment value, and fewer postponed or incomplete procedures. And because Alphaeon Patient Financing handles underwriting, servicing, compliance, and collections, the practice benefits without operational strain. Helping patients understand affordable monthly options is central to learning how to talk to patients about financing and improving treatment acceptance.
Across all five myths, a clear pattern emerges: patients aren’t avoiding care—they’re avoiding uncertainty. They want clarity, options, transparency, and a sense of partnership. Alphaeon Patient Financing, with soft-hit prequalification, strong approval rates, and dedicated practice support, gives patients exactly that.
By normalizing financing conversations and implementing patient communication best practices, your team can remove barriers, increase trust, and help more patients say “yes” to the care they’ve been hoping for.
