I took out a line of credit through CareCredit for it, but ended up not needing it. You are probably not going to like my answer, but the reality is that at 20 you probably don't have the credit needed to secure a medical/personal loan or credit line anywhere near $7k. Most places will loan someone with no credit between $250-$500, tops. It is a financial risk to loan people money who don't have a long credit history.
I would recommend signing up for Credit Karma and seeing what your credit score is and signing up for a starter credit card if you don't already have one. Their service is free, they get their money by partnering with credit card and loan companies whose products they recommend. It is a good way to see where you stand and what options are available to you to improve your credit.
No matter what route you go down (loan, credit, etc.) you will most likely need a cosigner. So I would get 2 options and make notes on all the details about them (amount of loan or credit line, interest %, length of loan, expected monthly payments, etc.), and run them by your cosigner. Since their credit is on the line, they should be involved in the decision making process.
Other advice:
- If you don't have a stream of monthly income, do not finance anything ever. Also understand that if you leave your job, you will still have this bill that needs to get paid. Credit card companies and private lenders don't have any kind of forbearance or deferment like a student loan would. They want their money when it is due, or you're going to get hit with additional fees.
- Get an estimate for secondary expenses and include that in your total loan amount. If surgery is $7k, you'll want to price out: additional medical supplies, travel to and from the surgeon, hotel expenses if you need to stay overnight for a certain number of days, and any additional money that you may need if you aren't able to work for a month. The supplies are pretty minimal, but travel can be very expensive depending on where you're going, when you're going, and how long the surgeon wants you to stick around.
