Why We are a Self-Pay Physical Therapy Model
Why We are a Self-Pay Therapy Model
“Do you accept my insurance?” We are often asked this question.
Refuge Physiotherapy is an out-of-network provider, meaning we do not bill insurance. Why?
We strive to provide the highest quality care for all our patients.
For this reason, we chose our fee-for-service model. We will explain this more in-depth in the rest of this blog.
1. Fewer Restrictions
Restrictions and limitations that insurance companies put in place with rehab don’t allow the patient to truly get the most out of their PT experience. For example, insurance is only focused on reimbursing for what is on the actual script or plan of care. This means it is harder for your PT to treat with a full-body focus (which is really important) when dealing with insurance.
Another example is that much of the time, insurance companies will give you a certain number of visits to treat the condition for which you are receiving care. This makes it hard to get the most out of physical therapy due to restrictions placed on providers. They shouldn’t be able to dictate treatment, but they do.
2. Little-to-No Hassle
In the state of Colorado, you do not need a referral to see a Physical Therapist. Coming straight to us helps you avoid the long wait time you can potentially face trying to see your doctor. Oftentimes, we can see you within a week or two!
3. You Can Save Money
Cost is another consideration. In many situations, you can actually save money by seeing us at Refuge. If you have a high deductible plan or a high copay, you are paying out of pocket until you meet that deductible. With the average number of visits per week that insurance-based clinics ask you to commit to (usually 2-3), the visits and copays add up. You could easily be paying more there than you do at Refuge, where we usually only see our patients once per week. Is this always the case? No, but there are too many times to count when this is true.
Typically, the average cost of a visit, when billed with insurance, is at least $200. Think about going 2-3 times per week for an average of 6-8 weeks. This would be $400-$600 per week at the low end. Same thing with copays. Let’s say you have a $50 copay and are going 2-3 times per week. That is at least $100-$150, not to mention, these are usually only 30-minute sessions compared to 1-hour sessions at Refuge. Also, if you want additional services that aren’t covered under insurance, you will be paying out of pocket for them anyway. These are all included services with the flat rate we charge at Refuge.
For your convenience, we do provide superbills per request that you can submit on your own for potential reimbursement. If your plan allows this and they reimburse you in full or partially, you save money in that way as well. These are things to ask yourself and consider before committing to physical therapy anywhere.
4. Higher Quality of Care
This is another huge component of this that we haven’t even discussed. Whether or not you have a high deductible/copay, the quality of care that you receive should be important to you. Due to progressively worsening reimbursement rates and pressure from insurance companies, you will most likely not only be treated by a Doctor of Physical Therapy but also by physical therapy assistants and PT techs at an insurance-based clinic.
Most likely, there will also be other patients treated during the same time due to productivity standards, and/or your sessions will again not be very long. You may get some time with your physical therapist, but you also may not see the same provider every time either, which matters.
5. Higher Consistency of Care
Consistency of care is a huge issue to gain the most of your physical therapy treatments. Typically, you won’t be spending one whole hour one-on-one with the same Doctor of Physical Therapy. But guess what? You will at Refuge Physiotherapy!
If you are going to pay for your care, it should be skilled care. Much of the time, this includes manual therapy including but not limited to dry needling, cupping, soft tissue mobilization, spinal manipulation, etc.
You also want to make sure the exercises are functional and tailored to you. It is hard to get that in a short period of time especially if you aren’t seeing the same provider every visit, and especially not a physical therapist every time.
Again, we chose this model because we saw the shortcomings of working in the traditional models and seeing the direct results of physical therapy treatment that is dictated by insurance companies. We strive to break that trend and actually help people heal better and faster; in doing so, we can save you time and money here at Refuge.
Reasons to choose refuge
Our patients are seen one-on-one by the same Doctor of Physical Therapy, which allows you to receive high-level skilled care that is evidence-based, functional, and tailored to you and your goals. We don’t make you do pointless exercises.
You will be heard and listened to so we can get you back to doing what you love more quickly.
With our model, usually only one hour of your time per week is needed. This allows you time to spend with family, be at work, or whatever is important to you. Due to the high-quality care that we offer, this is enough to make you feel better with accountability on your part to do the work outside of physical therapy.
If you have been to physical therapy before and felt like just another number, you don’t have to. You have another option to get the highest quality care possible. If you can be open-minded about all the things discussed in this blog and how those can benefit you and your rehab process, we could be a great fit for you! If you have any other questions for us or you want to schedule an initial evaluation to see how we can help you, you can do so on our website!
