FAQ’S

WHY CASH-BASED?

You may be wondering why Tru Physical Therapy and Wellness is a cash-based/concierge physical therapy clinic. So let’s walk through the process from a service-oriented and a financial perspective. How does the service differ at a cash-based clinic vs an insurance based clinic?

Traditional physical therapy (or insurance based) clinics will often have anywhere from 2-4 patients being seen per hour by any one physical therapist (PT). This requires the use of PT technicians most often to supplement or support the PT’s caseload. The PT will see a patient on average 15-20 minutes and then the patient is sent off to exercise independently or with the technician’s supervision. If this patient is seen 3 x week, then they actually receive 45-60 minutes of one-on-one time with the actual PT. In addition, the insurance companies dictate reimbursement for different treatments. This is requiring many clinics to treat patients according to this compensation rather than what will improve patient outcomes in the least amount of time.

How do the numbers really stack up?

If you consider the average co-pay of a physical therapy visit to be $40.00 and a patient was seen 3 x week, then we have a $120.00 copay bill alone per week (not including deductibles). Remember, that this same patient is actually receiving 45-60 minutes of the PT’s time during that week. If this same patient is seen over 4-week period, then the copay bill amounts to $480.00. Now consider the fact that 3 x week takes this patient away from work, school, home and family – a whole other cost that is incurred indirectly. At a cash-based PT clinic, such as Tru PT, we spend a complete hour one-on-one with the patient 1 x week (and more if needed) – providing optimal care in fewer visits. Our time is primarily spent providing manual treatments, in addition to exercises and education that the patient can take home and perform themselves. Why waste your time in the clinic doing exercises you can do independently at home or in the gym? In addition to this, there is no surprise bill that comes in the mail months later to cover a deductible or payments the insurance company did not cover. Lastly, patients will receive a super-bill from TruPT to submit to the insurance for reimbursement (compensation varies according to each patient’s personal policy).

In summary, here are the advantages for the same out of pocket costs of going to an insurance-based PT clinic:

• Receive one-on-one care for an entire visit

• Receive better outcomes

• Spend less time driving to and from the clinic

• Have no surprise bills