Picture this:
You're at the doctor's office for your low back pain thats been on and off for 5 years, or your knee injury that resurfaces every time you go on that weekend ski trip with your friends, or to check up on that arthritis that is in every joint in your body as a result of "old age" or "wear and tear". They provide you a list of contracted physical therapy clinics that they have never been to or experienced for themselves. They give you a few options of where THEY think you should go, but how in the world are you supposed to decide what's the best option?! Are the therapists knowledgeable? Will I truly be seen as a person or just an injury? Will I get hands on treatment? Will it be 1:1 or will I be stuck in a gym with 15 other people at the same time? How much time will it take? How much will it cost? These are all very common questions you may have before a physical therapy appointment, which are all normal!
It can be very stressful figuring out where to go after your doctor has recommended/prescribed physical therapy, but we're here to help you find answers to those questions and hopefully help you make your decision a lot easier!
There is no right or wrong answer here. There are great physical therapists that practice through both insurance and cash based models. However, there are some major differences between the two.
Let's break some of those down.
WHAT WILL IT COST?
This is one of the most common and difficult questions often asked about the model cash based physical therapy. Let's explore this, shall we? Keep in mind, we are talking about both MONEY and TIME as a cost.
A standard insurance based physical therapy company will most likely want to see you 2-3 times a week for anywhere up to 6-8 weeks, and in some cases, even 12. After a little math that can be anywhere from 12-36 visits. Okay, now take into account the amount of time you have to travel there and back. Being generous, let's say with NO traffic it's 15 minutes both ways - thats 30 minutes of travel time, not including the time spent in the clinic (which ranges from 40-60+ minutes). So now we have a minimum of 70-90 minutes of your time, which isn't guaranteed will be with an actual physical therapist EACH VISIT!
Taking money into account, let's say you have met your deductible and owe a co-pay of $50 per visit: this can amount to anywhere from $600-1,800 for 12-36 visits. If you haven't met your deductible, you can most likely double or triple that number. On average, a physical therapy visit in a standard insurance based practice is billed to your insurance at $175-225 (based on the codes/units being billed)!
At Forward Physio, we completely eliminate the time required traveling to and from physical therapy, because we come to YOU! That alone can save you countless hours that can be spent hanging out with your friends or children, cooking a meal, getting that extra errand done, or better yet, relaxing! We want to make physical therapy CONVENIENT and ACCESSIBLE for you, not a task. Additionally, an individual session for Forward Physio on average is $130. While we understand this may sound expensive, we do not have a visit commitment that dictates "when you are projected to be better" as insurances often do. We re-evaluate you EVERY visit and give you our professional advice on how many visits we think are necessary. While this is never an easy answer as every person and injury is different, we can near guarantee it will not be anywhere as many as a standard insurance based model. Being conservative, let's say it takes 8 visits, which equates to $1,040 and ONLY 8 hours of your time. Compare that to standard insurance at up to $1,800 (or more) and potentially 18-54 hours of your time! PLUS it is always guaranteed that you will be 1:1 with one of our expert PT's.
| Cost | Time |
Standard insurance | $600-1,800+ | 18-54 hours |
Cash-Based | $520-1,040+ | 4-12 hours |
*These numbers are based on an estimate and from experience. They may vary depending on your insurance provider, injury, and a variety of other factors.
QUALITY OF CARE:
Another very common question that you may have regarding physical therapy is - What is the quality of care going to look like? Will I be seen by the same person each visit? Will the person I'm seeing have appropriate knowledge and credentials? Will my therapist validate my feelings and understand what I want to achieve in physical therapy?
Typically, we do not like to assume nor place stereotypes on individuals or entities. However, based on our own and our colleagues experiences, we can say with a high level of certainty what you would expect to see at a standard insurance based physical therapy practice. For a normal visit it would go something like this:
Enter PT clinic.
Do "warm up" on bike/treadmill/ergometer or given a hot pack.
PT (maybe a different one or a PTA) sees you and performs manual work for 5-10 while instructing 2-3 other patients at the same time.
Do exercises PT prescribed with sheet or with a PTA, PT aide/tech, or college student.
Heat/ice/e-stim for 10-15 min at the end of the session.
Repeat for x amount of visits.
Again, this is NOT true in all insurance based clinics, but is common. Compared to a typical visit through Forward Physio, a cash-based PT company:
We come to YOU! - whether that is your home, office, or in some cases, your gym.
We evaluate your progress at EACH visit.
We provide personalized 1:1 care tailored exclusively to you.
We do not use your time to perform passive treatments such as ice and heat.
We ensure you are on track to the goals that you want to achieve.
You will ALWAYS see the same therapist!
We care about what you are experiencing both mentally and physically. We know that an injury is far more than just an injury and arguably, more mental than physical. We will listen to you and help you overcome both physical and mental barriers. Both of our therapists have doctorate degrees from an accredited university as well as dry needling certifications from reputable instructors. Our physical therapists strive to stay up-to-date on the latest research and continually learn and adapt so we can provide the best treatment for you. We care about YOU as a person and look at you as a whole, not as a diagnosis or an injury.
While cash-based PT is not for everyone, we genuinely believe it creates better outcomes, more meaningful client-therapist relationships, and can save you time and money.
Call or email us today to set up a free consult or appointment!
- Nicholas Tanner, PT, DPT
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