E D I T O R’ S
Q U E S T I O N
HOW ARE DIGITAL BNPL AND INSTALMENT PAYMENT MODELS IMPACTING HEALTHCARE COSTS AND INSURANCE IN THE US?
As the cost-of-living increases, so does the grip of the US healthcare system on its users. I ask three experts to share their insights on how BNPL and instalment payment models are supporting or hindering citizens with their health insurance and what it means for North American society.
Kavelle Christie, CEO and Founder at Orion 360 Health
The rise of digital Buy Now, Pay Later( BNPL) models in US healthcare is a red flag, not a revolution. These platforms are gaining traction because too many people, including those in rural communities and across reproductive and maternal health, are being priced out of care altogether. When giving birth can cost over US $ 18,000 without complications, and families are asked to take on payment plans just to leave the hospital, that isn’ t innovation. It’ s a warning sign of a system collapsing under its own weight. BNPL is often framed as a way to expand access. But let’ s be honest: it’ s deferred debt. It’ s a sleight of hand that makes unaffordable care look within reach, while quietly shifting the financial burden from insurers and health systems to patients, who were already juggling medical bills, denied claims and steep deductibles. And because these platforms aren’ t typically regulated as credit products, people are left without real recourse when terms turn predatory or when their personal health and financial data is reused without explicit consent to target ads, adjust credit scores, or share with third parties. In healthcare, that’ s not just a privacy issue. It’ s a risk to people’ s safety, especially in states where some forms of reproductive healthcare are now criminalised.
As Founder and CEO of Orion 360 Health, a boutique public policy consulting firm, I’ m in the process of launching the Center for Regulatory Policy and Health Innovation. This is a policy and advocacy initiative that monitors how healthcare regulations – or the absence of them – are reshaping access to care in real time. We’ re focused on exposing harmful regulatory gaps, building forward-thinking solutions, and ensuring that complex policy developments are translated into accessible information that communities, advocates and decisionmakers can act on.
If we’ re serious about healthcare innovation, we have to stop mistaking
FinTech workarounds for structural progress. We need to expand Medicaid and private insurance to cover essential services, like childbirth, abortion and postpartum care, without hidden fees or denials. We need to enforce regulatory guardrails that protect patients from predatory lending, data misuse and cost-shifting disguised as flexibility. We also need to make care more affordable by tackling hospital markups, opaque pricing, and the patchwork of state benefit design. Access to care should never depend on a financing app or a credit score. Neither should the future of healthcare shouldn’ t be debt-driven; It should be guaranteed through public policy, accountability and justice. www. intelligentfin. tech
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