Best Medical Loans

Medical care can be expensive in the United States. Although insurance will cover many procedures, deductibles are often high, and it may not cover the entire cost.

In 2017, U.S. households spent $980 billion on health care — an average of more than $3,200 per person, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

If you have medical costs you can’t afford to pay, medical loans could provide the funds you need. Find out how to take out a medical loan and see the best lenders.

In this guide:

• How medical loans work
• Best medical loan lenders
• How to comparison shop
• Alternative medical financing options
• Procedure-specific medical loans

How medical loans work

In most cases, a medical loan is simply an unsecured personal loan used to pay for medical care. Medical loans typically have a few key features that make them an ideal choice for financing medical care:

• Fixed loan amounts: With a medical loan, you borrow a fixed amount of money upfront and don’t get access to more cash as you pay down the loan, which can help you control your overall costs of borrowing.
• Fixed repayment terms: Medical loans have a set repayment schedule so you’ll know how long it will take to get out of debt.
• Lower interest rates than credit cards: While the average credit card interest rate is 16.97% as of August 2019, you can usually find a medical loan with a lower rate, especially if you have great credit. 
• Fast funding: In most cases, medical loan lenders release funds quickly after approval.

Best medical loans

Although you don’t have to take out a specific “medical loan,” there are plenty of companies offering personal loans that can be used for medical expenses. Find a few of these companies below.

LightStream

View Rates

Rates (APR)

5.95% – 19.99%*
With AutoPay

Loan Amounts

$5,000 – $100,000

Credit Score

660+

LightStream is our top-rated personal loan lender in large part due to having no fees and low rates. Further, the LightStream Rate Beat program means the lender will beat any rate a competitor offer by .10 percentage points. If you have excellent or good credit, LightStream is a great option.

• Credit score category: Excellent, good
• Soft credit pull to check rates: Not available
• Deposit time: As soon as the same day if conditions are met
• Origination fee: 0%
• Late fee: None
• Discounts: 0.50% point reduction for enrolling in autopay
• Repayment terms: 24 – 84 months*

Upgrade

View Rates

Rates (APR)

7.99% – 35.97%

Loan Amounts

$1,000 – $35,000

Credit Score

620+

Upgrade makes a lot of sense for borrowers with bad to fair credit, especially since you can check your rates with Upgrade without impacting your credit score. Upgrade is also a great option for borrowers that need smaller medical loans.

• Credit score category: Fair, bad
• Soft credit pull to check rates: Yes
• Deposit time: As soon as the next day
• Origination fee: 2.9% – 8%
• Late fee: $10
• Repayment terms: 36 or 60 months

Upstart

View Rates

Rates (APR)

8.41% – 35.99%¹

Loan Amounts

$1,000 – $50,000²

Credit Score

600+

Upstart is an online lending platform that partners with banks to provide personal loans that can be used for almost anything. Upstart’s lending model considers education, employment, and many other variables when determining eligibility.³ This model leads to 27% more approvals and 16% lower rates than traditional models.⁴

• Credit score category: Fair, bad
• Soft credit pull to check rates: Yes
• Deposit time: As fast as one business day
• Origination fee: 0% – 8%
• Late fee: $15 or 5% of payment
• Repayment terms: 36 or 60 months

How to comparison shop for medical loans

When you’re shopping for medical loans, it’s a good idea to get quotes from multiple lenders to ensure you find the best personal loan for your needs. Below are some of the key factors you’ll want to compare.

• APR: You’ll want to look for the lowest possible APR when taking out a medical loan because it can help lower your monthly payments and total costs of borrowing.
• Origination fees: Origination fees are upfront fees you pay to get a loan. Sometimes, the amount of the origination fee is added to your loan balance; it can also be deducted from your loan proceeds. Not all lenders charge these fees.
• Application requirements: You’ll want to pay attention to what each lender requires for a successful application. Some lenders, for example, restrict their loans only to people with excellent credit scores, while others will look beyond imperfect credit when evaluating an application. Many lenders also allow you to have a cosigner if you can’t qualify for a loan on your own.
• Loan terms: Pay attention to the loan amount, type of interest rate, repayment period, and additional fees. You should always look at the big picture to make sure you’re getting monthly payments you can afford with a loan that provides the funds you need.

Alternative medical financing options

Although medical loans can be a good way to pay for medical expenses, they aren’t the only option. Below are some other sources of financing.

0% APR credit cards

If you already have a credit card, using it to pay for medical care could be much faster and easier than getting approved for a personal loan or medical loan.

However, chances are good the interest you’ll pay will be higher — unless you can qualify for a 0% APR credit card that lets you finance purchases interest-free so long as they’re paid off within a certain period of time, such as 12 months. Such credit cards typically require good credit.

Medical credit cards

Some credit cards are intended specifically for medical financing. For example, CareCredit is a health care credit card you can use to cover your deductible or to pay for treatments and procedures not covered by insurance. It also offers deferred-interest financing for up to 18 months on purchases of $200 or more.

If you go this route, make sure your provider accepts the medical credit card — and compare the rates and terms with other general-purpose credit cards to see if you’re actually getting a good deal.

Secured loans

Secured loans are loans that require collateral in order to lower the risk to the lender in case of borrower default.

Secured loans can be easier to qualify for than unsecured loans — but in the process, you risk losing whatever collateral you put up if you become unable to make payments.

Looking for more procedure-specific medical loans?

Financing can help you afford many kinds of care that either aren’t covered by insurance or come with high deductibles and coinsurance costs.

If you are interested in more procedure-specific medical loans, you can find additional resources below:

• Dental loans
• Personal loans for plastic or cosmetic surgery
• Personal loans for treatment centers and rehab
• IVF loans
• Hip replacement surgery loans
• Breast augmentation cost and financing options
• Tummy tuck cost and financing options

A final note

If you end up with multiple loans, you may want to consider medical debt consolidation to save on interest and simplify repayment.

If you are ready to take out a loan, here is a recap of the companies you may want to consider:

*Payment example: Monthly payments for a $10,000 loan at 9.34% APR with a term of 3 years would result in 36 monthly payments of $319.58. LightStream disclosures here.

¹The full range of available rates varies by state. The average 3-year loan offered across all lenders using the Upstart platform will have an APR of 15% and 36 monthly payments of $33 per $1,000 borrowed. There is no down payment and no prepayment penalty. Average APR is calculated based on 3-year rates offered in the last 1 month. Your APR will be determined based on your credit, income, and certain other information provided in your loan application. Not all applicants will be approved.

²Your loan amount will be determined based on your credit, income, and certain other information provided in your loan application. Not all applicants will qualify for the full amount. Loans are not available in West Virginia or Iowa. The minimum loan amount in MA is $7,000. The minimum loan amount in Ohio is $6,000. The minimum loan amount in NM is $5100. The minimum loan amount in GA is $3,100.

³Although educational information is collected as part of Upstart’s rate check process, neither Upstart nor its bank partners have a minimum educational attainment requirement in order to be eligible for a loan.

⁴As reported by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, based on an internal Upstart study which compares outcomes from Upstart’s underwriting and pricing model against outcomes from a hypothetical model that uses traditional application and credit file variables and does not employ machine learning (traditional lending model).