AI and Fintech Team Up to Tackle America's Medical Debt Crisis

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – April 30, 2026 – As millions of Americans grapple with the crushing weight of medical debt, a new partnership between AI platform Collectly and financial technology firm Sunbit aims to rewrite the script on healthcare affordability. The collaboration embeds instant, high-approval financing directly into the patient experience, promising to deliver cost transparency and payment flexibility long before a surprise bill ever arrives in the mail.

The announcement comes at a critical time. The U.S. healthcare system is plagued by a pervasive affordability crisis, with recent studies revealing that Americans collectively shoulder at least $220 billion in medical debt. For the nearly 20 million people affected—roughly one in twelve adults—the consequences are dire, often forcing them to delay necessary care, drain savings, or make impossible choices between their health and other essential expenses. This partnership signals a significant move by the tech industry to address this systemic issue head-on, leveraging artificial intelligence and modern financial tools to untangle the complex and often stressful process of paying for care.

A System Straining Under Financial Burden

The challenge of medical debt extends far beyond the uninsured. While those without coverage are highly vulnerable, research shows that a staggering 80% of individuals with medical debt actually have health insurance. High-deductible health plans, coinsurance, and non-covered services create significant out-of-pocket costs that can quickly become unmanageable.

This financial strain is not distributed equally. Data consistently shows that medical debt disproportionately affects women, minority communities, and households with children. Hispanic households, for instance, are significantly more likely to carry medical debt than their white counterparts, and the financial burden often forces patients to forgo follow-up visits or skip prescribed medications, leading to poorer health outcomes and exacerbating long-term costs.

It is this landscape of financial anxiety and deferred care that the Collectly and Sunbit integration seeks to transform. By moving the financial conversation to the beginning of the patient journey, the companies aim to replace uncertainty with clarity and provide a pathway to affordability.

A New Workflow for Financial Wellness

The core of the partnership lies in a deeply integrated, AI-powered workflow that reimagines the patient financial experience from the ground up. Instead of the traditional, fragmented process where patients receive a confusing bill weeks or months after treatment, the new model provides a complete financial picture upfront.

"Our customers have been asking us to make affordability easier at every step—before the visit and after the bill," said Kevin Lunn, VP of Product at Collectly, in the official announcement.

The process begins before the patient even walks through the clinic door. Collectly’s platform automates digital intake and uses AI to verify insurance eligibility and benefits. It then generates a highly accurate cost estimate, showing the patient their expected out-of-pocket responsibility for the planned service. This is the critical moment where the partnership with Sunbit activates.

Seamlessly, within the same digital flow, patients are presented with Sunbit's financing options. The application process is designed to be frictionless, requiring no hard credit check and delivering a decision in seconds. With approval rates consistently above 90%, the platform offers a stark contrast to traditional medical credit cards, which often have stricter credit requirements and lower approval rates, around 60-65%.

For patients, this means they can see what care will cost and immediately secure a way to pay for it through flexible installment plans, including 0% interest options. "By pairing Sunbit with Collectly AI Cost Estimation and the rest of our payments stack, patients see exactly what care will cost and get an instant, high-approval way to pay for it," Lunn explained. This upfront clarity is designed to eliminate financial surprises, reduce the stress of payment, and ultimately improve access to care.

Redefining Patient Financing with Transparency

The partnership represents a significant evolution in the "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) model's application in healthcare. While patient financing is not new, Sunbit’s approach directly addresses some of the industry's most criticized practices. Unlike many medical credit cards that utilize a deferred interest model—where high retroactive interest is charged if the balance isn't paid in full during a promotional period—Sunbit offers straightforward installment loans. This transparency is crucial for building patient trust.

The use of a soft credit check for applications is another key differentiator. It allows patients to explore their options without fear of damaging their credit score, a major barrier for many who are already in a precarious financial position. This focus on accessibility is a cornerstone of the collaboration.

"Partnering with Collectly brings Sunbit's proven financing technology directly into the healthcare payment experience," stated Oded Vakrat, VP of Platform Partnerships at Sunbit. "We're making it simple for patients to manage costs in a way that fits their lives."

This patient-centric approach also provides a powerful solution for healthcare providers. Practices that have adopted Sunbit report approving 50% more patients for financing compared to other options, enabling more individuals to proceed with recommended treatments.

Improving the Financial Health of Healthcare Providers

While the benefits for patients are clear, the integration is equally compelling for healthcare practices struggling with the complexities of revenue cycle management. Unpaid patient balances are a major source of financial strain for providers, leading to high collection costs and unpredictable cash flow.

The Collectly-Sunbit model effectively outsources this risk. When a patient uses Sunbit to finance their care, the provider receives immediate, full payment for the balance. Sunbit assumes the responsibility for collecting the installment payments from the patient, and the provider is protected from chargebacks or defaults. For this service, the provider pays a flat merchant processing fee, a predictable cost that replaces the uncertainty and administrative burden of chasing down patient payments.

This automated, hands-off solution allows clinic staff to focus on patient care rather than debt collection. According to the press release, practices using Sunbit have seen a 14% increase in revenue collected. This, combined with the operational efficiencies gained from Collectly’s AI platform—which boasts strong user reviews for its seamless EHR integration and effectiveness in reducing accounts receivable—presents a powerful value proposition. The combined platform not only helps patients afford care but also ensures the financial stability and growth of the practices that provide it.

The integration is now available to Collectly's network of over 3,000 healthcare facilities nationwide, strengthening a pre-service technology stack that is rapidly becoming essential in modern healthcare. This convergence of AI-driven administration and compassionate financial technology represents a pivotal step toward a healthcare system where financial barriers no longer stand in the way of essential medical treatment.