Safety
Safety comes first, and only a patient and their clinical care team can decide what is safe. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.
How patients finance elective surgery
A:Patients can finance elective surgery through a third-party lender or the provider's own payment plan. Term conditions such as whether the plan charges interest change the total effective cost. Axios reported in 2024 that PatientFi, a financing platform for out-of-pocket elective procedures, raised $25 million from Questa Capital. PatientFi serves plastic surgery, dermatology, and dentistry practices, and its CEO named CareCredit as a rival.1
Hospital financing for elective surgery comes in two kinds, USC Schaeffer Center researchers told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2023. Some third-party firms are paid by hospitals to replace in-house billing and offer repayment plans without interest. Other firms offer patients interest-bearing medical payment products, which the researchers said may raise greater consumer protection concerns than interest-free repayment plans.2
Payment plan terms vary by provider, and one UK hospital group shows the spread. In 2026, Practice Plus Group offers 0% plans over 3 or 12 months and 14.9% APR plans over 24 to 60 months through Chrysalis Finance. Practice Plus Group's 3-month 0% plan covers selected treatments only, and financing must be arranged before the surgery date, so a patient applies before booking surgery.3
A practice that offers financing should tell patients whether each plan charges interest, since interest changes the total a patient repays. For more about the evidence on patient financing, see our patient financing evidence.
Notice
This article is for informational purposes only. It describes published sources and gives our opinion on what they mean for running a practice. It is not medical or legal advice, it does not create a doctor‑patient or attorney‑client relationship, and it should not be used to make any medical or legal decision. Discuss treatment with a qualified healthcare provider and legal questions with a licensed attorney. What it says about any company, product, or pharmacy comes from the sources cited below, and anything beyond them is our opinion. To report an error, email lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com and we will review it.
How patients see your practice
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Sofwave usage fees rose 60% in one quarter. What does Sofwave tell investors about practice margins?Sofwave's usage fees rose 60% to $13.3 million in Q3 2026.5 min read About half of body contouring patients were ready at a PA or NP visit. When do the rest return?A PA or nurse practitioner found about half of body contouring patients ready.7 min read Juvéderm sales fell 11.8% year over year. How often do toxin patients add filler?In 2025, 13% of US toxin treatments came with a filler treatment, down from about 21% in 2017.5 min readReferences (3)
- Axios, Exclusive: PatientFi gets $25M to finance cash-pay elective procedures, 2024. News. https://www.axios.com/pro/health-tech-deals/2024/02/13/exclusive-patientfi-gets-25m-to-finance-cash-pay-elective-procedures Back to where you were ↑
- USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, Responses to Request for Information Regarding Medical Payment Products, 2023. Industry survey. https://schaeffer.usc.edu/research/responses-to-request-for-information-regarding-medical-payment-products/ Back to where you were ↑
- Practice Plus Group, Private surgery finance - 0% interest, 2026. Vendor-published. https://practiceplusgroup.com/private-patient-care/finance-options/ Back to where you were ↑