Company: Epic River (private)

Headquarters: Fort Collins, CO

Year Founded: 2005

1. What problem was Epic River founded to solve?

Our Patient Lending solution was built to bridge the growing gap between healthcare costs and patient affordability.

The rise of high-deductible insurance plans has left many patients unable to cover out-of-pocket expenses, resulting in 55% of patient responsibility being unpaid. Hospitals need to improve accounts receivable and decrease collection costs to assure financial integrity, improve services and support future growth.

Our Patient Lending model addresses these challenges by connecting financial institutions with hospitals to facilitate patient payments, reduce collection expenses and improve cash flow for providers.

2. How do you describe Epic River's right to win in your market?

Our solution offers essential support to patients and strengthens the financial stability of healthcare providers, improving cash flow and often increasing patient payment collections from 45% to more than 70%.

Patients are empowered to determine the best option for their needs, ranging from zero-percent financing for short term loans to low-interest payments for long-term agreements. Unlike other fintech providers, we do not limit or change the program based on credit scores, and we offer our platform to healthcare providers without licensing fees, ensuring no additional costs are passed on to patients.

3. What are your key goals and definition of success in the next 12 months?

We plan to expand our platform and partnerships to leverage the strong community relationships held by local financial institutions. By integrating these connections with Epic River’s evolving digital platform, we are fostering an interconnected referral network where community leaders can support one another.

Our goal is also to offer more unique lending programs for community banks and credit unions, providing additional interest revenue streams with low customer acquisition costs. We aim to empower institutions to make positive impacts, build trust, and attract new customers through opportunities such as patient lending, green energy loans, and point-of-sale financing.