Best Personal Loans for Medical Expenses

Quick Look: The Best Personal Loans for Medical Expenses

• Best for Customizable Robo Investing: M1 Finance
• Best for Physicians: Doc2Doc Lending
• Best for Excellent Credit Score: Marcus
• Best for Quick Funding: Figure
• Best for No Collateral Required: Axos
• Best for No Origination Fees: SoFi

When your health or the health of a loved one starts to falter, worrying about how you’ll pay what your insurance doesn’t cover makes a stressful time more difficult. Or, maybe you’re looking into a cosmetic or elective procedure that isn’t covered by insurance at all.

A personal loan may be your solution when you need money to pay for a medical expense. They’re 1 lump sum payment loans that you repay in installments, often at a low rate, making them perfect for large expenses.

If you’re interested in a personal loan to cover your medical expenses, look no further. Check out Benzinga’s list of the best personal loans for medical expenses to start loan shopping today.

Best Personal Loans for Medical Expenses

While nobody wants to go into debt to cover medical costs, it's a situation many of us find ourselves in. A personal loan can be a low-cost, fast way to get funding. It can also be a great way to consolidate credit cards with high balances or consolidate medical debt while keeping your credit intact. A personal loan used to consolidate credit cards can raise your over credit limit while lowering your overall credit use. This will look good for your credit utilization, an important factor in credit approval. 

M1 Finance

M1 Finance is an investment platform that allows you to borrow against the balance in your account. You’ve been saving for the future, guiding your investments and trying to use the markets to your advantage. This might be the perfect time to dip into those funds to manage medical debt and/or expenses.

M1 Finance offers:

• Competitive rates
• A massive range of loan values and terms
• An online loan calculator that helps you understand how the loans work
• Liquidity that doesn’t require you to sell your assets

Don’t cash out your portfolio when you can borrow against your M1 Finance account to get into the next phase of your life, deal with medical debt, and much more.

Doc2Doc Lending

Doc2Doc Lending provides personal loans to physicians at competitive rates. You can apply online right now to get loans that were made by doctors for doctors. Plus, you can learn more about the platform’s proprietary algorithm and how it helps you.

Plus, several medical professionals can apply:

• Doctors
• Dentists
• Residents
• And many more

And, you can choose from a few loan types, including:

• In-practice loans
• In-training loans
• J-1 visa loans

Marcus

Marcus is the personal banking arm of Goldman Sachs, and it offers you the opportunity to obtain a personal loan for everyone, with terms and values that suit most situations. You can even get an APR discount just for setting up autopay. Plus, this might be a place where you have already invested, meaning you will be comfortable borrowing from your current broker.

Marcus also offers:

• No fee, unsecured loans
• A soft credit check to pre-qualify (which helps preserve your credit score)
• Customer support availability every day of the week

Origination fees are competitive, which helps because you might not be working or only have the capacity to work part-time, but it can take a little time to get your loan funded. There are several repayment plans to choose from, no collateral is needed and you can even defer a payment after making your first year’s worth of payments on-time.

Figure

Figure offers personal loans in an all-online format that allows you to get started as quickly as possible. This is a very good place to start when you’re looking for medical financing and need a quick answer. 

The firm offers competitive rates and quality customer service throughout the process, and they even offer gift cards to customers who refer friends and family to their personal loans department. You can at least do something to get some of your money back here and there.

Plus, Figure also offers:

• Financing up to $50,000
• Multiple fixed-term options
• Low fees
• Quick funding

Consider Figure when you want to take out a personal loan for medical costs. There’s less waiting around, and you can even earn a bit of that money back through referrals. This could be the solution that you and any family or friends have been searching for when you’ve been battling medical conditions and extended treatment.

Axos

When you want to borrow money for medical expenses, you can turn to a range of financial platforms or banks. Axos Bank is known for offering consumers a wide range of products from checking accounts to investing accounts and more. With an all-online application, you can choose from a wide range of loan amounts, flexible terms and get your money direct deposited into your account. This is really helpful when you already have issues with medical debt.

Plus, Axos offers:

• Flexible criteria for approval
• Loans to cover any medical expense
• Information that helps you determine if a personal loan is right for you

You can use these loans to medical expenses, extra costs or emergencies and much more. Consider applying because there are several options available at Axos.

SoFi

Sofi has long prided itself on helping consumers refinance debt, get out of debt and manage their finances in an all-in-one setup. This is even more important when your juggling medical expenses. However, when you look for personal loans through SoFi, there’s no origination fees, no late fees, an array of options, etc.

SoFi also makes personal loans easy to get and manage with:

• A powerful mobile app
• Unemployment protection (especially important if you’re sick or recovering)
• No collateral required
• U.S.-based customer service associates

You don’t need to become a member to enjoy some of the benefits that target borrowers, and you can open other accounts with SoFi at any time. This might be a good way to centralize your finances, improve on your retirement accounts or simply diversify. Plus, this might be a good way to get back on track if medical expenses have been draining your reserves.

Because you’re not paying fees, you have more money to pursue other financial goals in the future.

Types of Personal Loans for Medical 

As with most loans, your credit history will determine your loan offers. And, your unique financial situation will determine what type of loan you’ll choose. While you can typically expect personal loans to be similar in structure, there are different types. You may be provided offers for secured or unsecured loans, for example, or have to choose from a fixed or variable rate loan. 

Secured Loans

If a lender offers you a secured loan, they are requesting collateral to back the loan. If you’re requesting a high loan amount or have slightly spotty credit, this may be the lender’s way of reducing their own risk.

Be sure you repay these loans by their terms to the letter — if you default on your agreement, your collateral could be seized in addition to your credit taking a blow.

Unsecured Loans

You won’t have to put up any collateral for an unsecured loan; they should be taken just as seriously as a secured loan. Unsecured loans are backed only by your creditworthiness as a borrower. If you default on your loan, your credit report could be negatively affected.

Fixed-Rate vs. Variable-Rate Loans

Lenders offer fixed or variable interest rates loans. You may have the option to choose between the 2 types of rates.

Fixed-rate loans have interest rates that remain static throughout your loan. These are useful because you can calculate the exact amount the loan will cost you. 

Variable-rate loans have interest rates that can fluctuate throughout your loan. While this can be inconvenient, you don’t know exactly how much the loan will cost you — it can mean a lower rate or lower monthly payments. This could be useful if you’re strapped for cash and need lower monthly payments to make ends meet.

To compare multiple offers from multiple lenders, use a free loan comparison service like Credible. You’ll be able to easily compare lenders you qualify with. Comparing rates and terms from multiple lenders is a great way to ensure you’re getting the best terms and rates.

Personal Loan Requirements and Criteria

Different lenders have different requirements, but the following is a gold standard for what lenders look at when they are reviewing your loan application:

• Your FICO credit score
• Debt-to-income ratio
• Delinquencies or negative remarks on your credit report
• Credit utilization (your credit balance vs. your credit limit)
• Open accounts with a positive standing (payments being made on time)

Some lenders may have loans specialized for certain types of medical procedures, like in-vitro fertilization. And while most lenders do prefer borrowers with good credit, bad credit doesn't fully rule you out. A service like BadCreditLoans.com focuses on pairing lenders with borrowers who don’t have the best of credit. Its small loans are a great way to put some extra cash in your pocket while times are tight or to avoid paying for a medical bill with a high-interest credit card. If you keep up with your monthly payments, it’ll have a positive influence on your credit.

Personal Loan Considerations

If you’ve decided a personal loan sounds like a good solution to your financial woes, there are a couple of things to consider. Primarily, be sure you can meet all the terms and conditions set for the loan before you agree to it. Even paying a loan off before the agreed period can have consequences, with some lenders charging hefty prepayment penalties. 

Look for loans with terms and rates that are logical for you. And keep your eye out for any hidden costs or fees. Look for loans with as minimal fees as possible to avoid paying more than you bargained for. 

Although you trust that the lenders and loan comparison services on our list operate with integrity, the same isn’t true for every lender out there. Be wary of predatory lenders, especially online. If a loan seems too good to be true, be sure it’s coming from a legit source. Stray away from payday lenders and the like — these loans are often super high interest and can reduce your spending power more than getting your money early is worth. 

If you want to play it safe, use a loan comparison service like Even. You’ll have the peace of mind that you’re only connecting with trustworthy lenders, reducing your exposure to potential scammers during the loan shopping process.

Personal Loans vs. Credit Cards

While credit cards are best for covering your prescription copays or paying for other small recurring expenses, a personal loan is best suited to larger expenses or debt consolidation.   

You’ll usually get the full loan amount at once, which you’ll repay in fixed monthly installments. Personal loans often offer lower, fixed interest rates than credit cards with higher credit limits. When a personal loan is paid in full, the line of credit is closed.

Unlike personal loans, your available credit is increased by how much you pay toward your credit card balance monthly. Although you can choose how much you’ll pay off after you meet the minimum required payment, credit cards often have higher variable interest rates. For this reason, keeping low balances is ideal to avoid getting in over your head with interest.

Also, personal loans are better suited to debt consolidation. You can take your loan to repay all your debtors at once, rolling your debt over into 1 monthly payment. This makes debt management easier to budget for. 

Whether you’re installing a handicap ramp on your new house or need funding to cover a medical procedure, a personal loan could be your solution. A loan comparison service allows you to compare your prequalified loan offers side-by-side. Get in touch with one of the reputable lenders on our list for questions and a great rate.

You're just a few clicks away from peace of mind about your health solutions. Start on your journey toward better funding today. 

Frequently Asked Questions