Medical Equipment Leasing Basics

Examine your budget when digesting the medical equipment leasing basics

By leasing medical equipment, you have the option of maintaining a top-of-the-line health care facility. By doing this, you minimize the risk of patients transferring to other facilities for treatment.

As with any business decision, there are several factors to consider when pricing a medical equipment lease. Set a budget for the monthly lease payments to make sure it does not affect your company's bottom line. When examining the medical equipment leasing basics, consider the following:

1. Go straight to the source, and secure financing for medical equipment from lenders who specialize in leasing equipment.

2. Apply for loans from banks to finance medical equipment.

3. Consider medical equipment leasing companies that let you lease to own.

Search for leases from lenders who specialize in medical equipment loans

Pay particular attention to companies that specialize in medical equipment loans and leases; these businesses know the industry well enough to answer any questions you may have. Look to spend several thousand dollars to outfit your facility with any high-end machinery you may need.

Apply for financing from lenders to secure medical equipment financing

Go straight to the source of the money, and apply for a lease through financial companies. You can have access to more money this way, up to several hundred thousand dollars. But be wary that interest rates may fluctuate, forcing you to pay more through your loan. If the Federal Reserve raises rates, then you may need to pay more interest.

Look to lease-to-own medical leasing options

Lease-to-own options are ideal if you don't have the funds available currently, but you'd like to own the medical equipment someday. This is also a good idea if the equipment you're interested in doesn't depreciate in value too much; you don't want to spend large sums of money on equipment that won't be worth much. That defeats the original purpose of leasing vs. buying. Look to spend extra money if you end up purchasing the equipment; check with the lender to see what options are available.

• When you lease medical equipment, you may be able to claim the entire lease payment as a tax deduction. Check with your tax adviser to see if this is true in your case.

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