Are you in need of some medical care that isn’t covered by the public health plan but isn’t sure how to go about it? Find out what medical loans cover, how they work, and whether or not a medical loan is right for you. Nothing matters more than your health and the health of your loved ones. If you or someone you love need a medical loan, then keep reading. Here is everything you need to know about medical loans in Canada.
What Are Medical Loans For?
In Canada, most healthcare needs are covered by the public health plan. However, the wait times are sometimes too long for some people. If you can’t afford to wait and need to turn to private health care, you’ll see that the costs can add up quickly. If you don’t have private insurance to cover medical costs like dentist visits, this can also be a costly experience if you have a family.
While we are so fortunate to have medical coverage in Canada, there are still many people who go without the medical interventions they desperately need due to their financial situations. If you are in need of medical care, remember that your health comes first. If you don’t have the funds needed to get the care you or your loved ones need, you can always look into a medical loan to help you out. Keep reading to find out what medical loans cover and how you can apply for one today.
What Do Medical Loans Cover?
Medical loans can cover a range of medical procedures and interventions. Here’s a closer look at what you can expect a typical medical loan to cover in Canada.
Dental Care
If you and your children do not have private dental insurance, those visits, X-rays, and fillings can add up very fast. Especially for children, regular dental checkups are important. It can cause serious long-term damage to their teeth if issues like cavities are left uncared for. The government does cover the basics, but they may not cover the extras that your child needs. If you’re suffering from unexpected job loss, your funds may be tight. But the dental care still needs to be provided. If you are in such a situation, you can take out a medical loan to help cover those costs and maintain your and your children’s dental hygiene.
Orthodontics
Lots of teens and adolescents need braces and other orthodontic work. The prices can vary based on what the child needs specifically, but one thing is for sure: orthodontics can set you back thousands. If you don’t have private insurance to cover this, this can be an overwhelming cost. Straightening teeth during this stage of life can help prevent your children from having serious dental complications later in life. They will be much less likely to lose teeth if they are straightened out as adolescents or teens. If you have more than one child, these expenses can seem overwhelming. A medical loan can help you cover these costs.
Private Healthcare
If your doctor prescribes a specific test but the public system is full, you will have to wait. In some cases, you may wait months. Even if the danger isn’t imminent, waiting to find out if you have a serious medical problem weighs on you mentally and emotionally. You can often get the tests you need to be performed within a few days at a private healthcare clinic. Of course, the cost is high and if your private insurance doesn’t cover it, you will be stuck waiting if you don’t have the money to pay for it upfront. As a parent, you know if your child needs care, you can’t wait. If you need to seek private healthcare, a medical loan can facilitate that process for you so you can get the answers you need today.
Alternative Care
The Canadian doesn’t cover medical expenses that are deemed as alternative care. Whether or not these methods can cure a patient of disease, they can often offer comfort at the very least. If a terminal patient requires acupuncture to feel better in the short term, the cost will not be covered. If you or a loved one are suffering, you already know that comfort is the most important factor. If you don’t have the funds to provide this care, the patient suffers. A medical loan can help you cover the costs and get you or your loved on the care they want.
Plastic Surgery
You can also apply for plastic surgery loans if you want to do elective plastic surgery. In some cases, plastic surgery has an emotional, psychological or even a physical benefit for the patient. In most cases, plastic surgery won’t be covered by the government. Breast reductions, for example, can often be covered by Medicare. However, there are very explicit criteria to adhere to for eligibility. If you don’t fall into that category, it doesn’t mean you don’t need the surgery. It just won’t cover. For your comfort, you may want to go private and get the reduction anyway. There are many cases in which plastic surgery can be beneficial. Medical loans for plastic surgery can help make it happen.
Experimental Treatment
If you or a loved one are battling a rare disease, you know that experimental treatment just may be the answer to your problems. However, due to the lack of evidence around these new treatments, the government does not cover these procedures in Canada. It’s happened many times already where a patient is accepted into a clinical trial and makes a miraculous recovery. If you or a loved one are gravely ill, you will want to try anything.
Some medical interventions are starting up in the United States but have not yet reached Canada and they can save lives. If this sounds like a familiar scenario to you, then you also know obtaining these treatments can be extremely pricey. In some cases, families may need to remortgage their home to get the funds they need to afford these treatments.
Even if the chances are slim, it’s human nature to want to at least try. So many Canadians tun to channels like Go Fund Me to crowd fund the money they need. However, there are so many requests going on out there that not everyone gets what they need. Oftentimes, it is the most highly publicized cases or the one-off case that goes viral that get the most attention. Sadly, there are so many similar stories out there. If you want to take part in experimental treatments, you are likely looking at costs in the hundreds of thousands. If this is your case, securing a medical loan can help you achieve your goal and bring you closer to the next phase of treatment. There may not be a guarantee it’ll work, but all current effective treatments were once experimental.
Fertility Treatments
Approximately one in eight couples will experience infertility. Struggling with infertility can have serious mental and emotional effects on each individual and on the couple. It can be a devastating experience, especially for couples who experience pregnancy loss. The hopes they had are dashed again when a pregnancy fails. Invitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments are often the only way to help couples conceive and have a child. In some Canadian provinces, IVF is covered by the government but only one cycle. If patients need a few cycles of IVF to have a child, they will have to foot the bill on their own.
Needless to say, medical treatments for infertility can really add up. It can be impossible for some couples to find the resources to finally have a child. Medical loans can help couples struggling with IVF to undergo whatever medical treatments are necessary so they can finally welcome their own little bundle of joy into the world. If you or someone you love is struggling with infertility, you know the battle is emotionally taxing. A medical loan can help that dream finally come true.
Laser Eye Surgery
This common procedure can save you from years of wearing glasses and updating prescriptions. It’s worth it for the convenience of never needing to carry glasses or contacts with you again. But it can also save you from buying glasses. Laser eye surgery is a tested and proven effective permanent way to rid yourself of glasses. The only problem is that there is an upfront cost. A medical loan can help get access to the funds you need to get the surgery you want. Just file an application and before you know it, you’ll be seeing 20/20 again – without a set of glasses or contacts.
Preventative Procedures
Due to overwhelming demand, patients with suspect moles or dermatological issues are often told to take a wait and see approach. If a doctor deems a patient is in immediate danger, they will be tested immediately. But this isn’t always the case. Some cancers can lay dormant for years before they really become life-threatening. However, most people don’t want to wait until something becomes malignant to treat it. If you would like to treat a dermatological issue as a precaution, you can choose to do so via private healthcare. The procedure will be done when you want it to be done. A medical loan can make that possible for you.
Hair Restoration Procedures
Are you suffering from premature hair loss? This hereditary condition can be devastating to an individual’s self-confidence, particularly if they are still relatively young. It is not uncommon for both men and women suffering from baldness to seek out hair restoration treatments like hair plugs. Most private insurances will not cover this type of elective cosmetic procedure so you will have to cover the cost on your own. Taking out a medical loan can help you to get the procedure done before it’s too late. You can pay the loan back afterwards, but the procedure can be done immediately.
Chiropractic Treatments
Generally speaking, chiropractic treatments are not covered by Canadian healthcare. Some private insurances may cover it but if you don’t have that, then you’re fresh out of luck. You will have to pay for your sessions out of pocket. Usually, when a person is in pain, they need many more visits in the beginning and it slowly tapers off as the patient improves. Back pain can be particularly horrendous, leaving patients literally immobile for days at a time. If you are in pain and need treatments immediately, you will need to dish out the funds right now. A medical loan can help you cover those costs as you get yourself into shape again.
At-Home Medical Equipment
If an aging or physically impaired loved one needs care, you may want to care for them yourself at home. This can be beneficial for many patients, even though it is a tremendous undertaking for the caregiver. Of course, when it’s your loved one, you want to do whatever you can to help them. If a patient wishes to die at home or receive temporary treatment at home, this can be done. But the caregiver will need plenty of medical equipment to be able to care for their loved one. Medical equipment is quite costly but it’s a necessity for the patient in need. Medical loans can get you the funds you need to purchase these much-needed medical supplies today.
Veterinary Expenses
Veterinary fees are always at the expense of the pet owner. They can add up quickly and some medical procedures can be extremely costly. Your pet is a member of the family and you don’t want to say goodbye to them because you don’t have the funds to care for them adequately. A medical loan can also be used to cover medical costs for your beloved pets.
How Do I Apply for a Medical Loan?
To apply for a medical loan in Canada, you will need to present yourself at a financial institution to apply for a loan, either in person or online. In most cases, they will need to know all the details about the medical procedures you need to be covered and will do a credit check, as well. If this is not a problem for you and you can also show proof of employment, then you are among the luckiest Canadians. Your loan will be most likely be approved.
If, however, you have poor credit, a traditional banking institution will likely not extend a loan to you, no matter what it’s for. You may need to deal with a direct lender instead. Lenders like BHM Financial, Cash in 24, and Canoco Consulting – to name a few – can offer bad credit loans for your medical needs. This means they won’t allow your credit score to factor into their decision to loan you money. Instead, direct lenders look at your income and decide what you can afford to borrow. They know a tough financial past isn’t always indicative of a difficult financial future. If you need a medical loan quick and have a history of poor credit or a low credit score, you will most likely be better off borrowing from a direct lender. They can also get you the funds you need very quickly – very often within the same business day.
What Credit Score Do You Need for a Medical Loan?
With a traditional banking institution, the minimum credit score required is 600. If your credit score is lower than that, you can be pretty sure they won’t accept your loan application. A direct lender can offer a bad credit loan, which means your credit score won’t even be a factor. Though a direct lender may verify your credit score and history, it does not affect your application. A direct lender can also use items you own for equity-like your home, car, mobile home, or boat. This can make it quick and easy to get the funding you need fast.
How Can I Pay Back My Medical Loan?
If you borrow funds from a traditional banking institution, you will receive a payment schedule. This is usually a pretty rigid schedule and there isn’t much room for negotiation there. The idea is not to help you out, but to get their money back as quickly as possible. A direct lender is much more flexible and they can work with you to create a repayment schedule that still works with your life and allows you to continue to love while you pay off your debt. Z medical debt is usually a necessity. Your health and the health of your loved ones should always come first. A lack of funds shouldn’t be the determining factor in obtaining medical treatment.
If you are in need of medical help, meet with a financial expert at a direct lending organization for more information. They can help you better understand the loan products available to you and help you to get access to the fund you need quickly. They can also help you repay your loan back in a steady manner so you can rebuild your credit score at the same time.