To further its mission to better serve Americans through financial education and transparency, Synchrony and its leading health and wellness financial solution, CareCredit, launched a new initiative: the Fair Financing Principles. The Fair Financing Principles establish a new standard for transparency and education for financing options, Synchrony said in a press release. 

While 54% of US adults say they know at least a fair amount about personal finances, less than half of adults ages 18 to 49 say the same.¹ At the same time, health care costs continue to rise. Synchrony said it is addressing a critical need for resources to help Americans better understand and manage the cost of care not covered by insurance.

A recent study found 52% of consumers struggle to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, and 53% reported that they have delayed medical treatments due to out-of-pocket costs.² The real-world impact of delaying care is a driving force behind Synchrony’s commitment toward ensuring consumers have the tools and information they need to ease the financial burden of accessing timely care, the company said in the press release.

“We started our Fair Financing Principles with a focus on health and wellness, one of the most complex of the industries Synchrony serves, so our customers can be better informed of their financing choices,” said Beto Casellas, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Health & Wellness at Synchrony, in the press release. “We have lived by and trained our providers on these principles for more than 35 years. Our hope is that by making these principles public-facing we are setting a new standard for what consumers should expect from their providers and a financing company.”

Synchrony said it continues to support financial transparency with its collection of online consumer financing tools. One example is the new CareCredit Procedure Calculator, which provides the estimated cost of more than 700 health, wellness and veterinary care procedures based on zip code, represented by the average cost from the top 3 cities within each state across the United States.

The new CareCredit Fair Financing Principles and Procedure Calculator are housed on a webpage with a variety of resources for consumers, including:

• Payment Options: An explanation of options to pay for health and wellness expenses not covered by insurance, including how CareCredit works, use of flexible or health care spending accounts, and ensuring consumers know if they qualify for subsidized care by state or federal programs.
• Promotional Financing Overview: Easy to understand explanations of different promotional financing options, as well as an overview of how deferred interest and reduced/fixed APR work.
• Payment Calculator: Estimates a patient’s monthly payments based on the amount financed and the promotional financing option selected.
• A Sample CareCredit Billing Statement: Offers guidance on how to read and find important information on monthly statements, such as the amount owed if a balance remains at the end of the promotional period when the promotional period expires.
• Provider Tips: Health and wellness providers share how they ensure patients understand their financing options, as well as questions patients should ask their providers about paying for care.

According to the company, the mission of Synchrony’s Health & Wellness business is to help people pay for the costs of care they want and need, and the CareCredit Fair Financing Principles are grounded in the company’s commitment to providing clear and transparent information about its payment solutions. To read the Fair Financing Principles and additional educational information, visit https://www.carecredit.com/fair-financing-principles/.

CareCredit is a credit card that is accepted at more than 280,000 providers across the United States, including at select retail locations such as Albertsons, Sam’s Club, Walmart and Walgreens.

References:

1. Pew Research Center Survey of U.S. adults conducted September 2023.
2. Consumer Healthcare Journey Research. Synchrony. September 2023.