So How Much Did My Physical Therapy Cost?

I still haven’t received my bill from my physical therapist yet for my knee problem. But, I did get my explanation of benefits from my insurance provider so I know how much my bill is going to be. I cannot believe how much it cost!

$222/visit

The first visit I had, I can understand that cost and I’m okay with that cost. My condition was evaluated and that was some real one-on-one time. The second visit, well, it was cut short for one so it was less than an hour (50 minutes). Then I spent 10 minutes on an exercise bike while the trainer sat and pedaled next to me. Then I was given an ultrasound treatment (which did feel nice for a few hours after the visit) and the trainer taped me knee (only to have it unravel by the time I went to bed). The last five minutes were spent reviewing my homework exercises. To me, it wasn’t worth the continued visits since the trainer said they would be the exact same thing.

After my insurance, each visit cost almost $65. Let’s say that I stuck with the program for the rest of the five weeks at two visits/week. That would have been $650. I knew I had to fess up to my doctor since I saw her again a little bit ago. Her response? She asked if I received some exercises to do. I told her that I did and I have been doing them and I am also trying to be more active overall. I also said I was concerned about the cost. She understood and gave one of those smiles like, “Yeah, I know they are pretty ex-pen-sive!” but she couldn’t say that LOL. But she approved.

A few changes have made a huge difference. My weekends are basically pain free now. During the week is a different story, though, since I still sit for long periods and it hurts my knees. Inactivity has taken a toll on my body and it is going to take some time to reverse it but it can be done. I am making progress, though

Posted by Tricia on September 2, 2008 at 12:58 AM in Insurance | 21 Comments »
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C responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 1:26 am
I know. Isn’t it expensive. I have been going to a chiroprator doctor for a few months now, to the tune of $55 a visit. They wanted me to go for 2 visits a week, but I can’t afford that. I have been going once a week, but that is still too expensive, even with insurance coverage. I orignally started to go for numbing in my hand. I went to my family doctor and after doing some tests, he suggested that I start exercising. It has gotten a little better with the physical therapy, but I am going to stop going, since it is too expensive. I hear ya.
James@capitalcouplesfinance.com responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 7:52 am
Yeah…been there. Last summer I shattered my elbow and broke my arm in 8 places. This put me in PT for 6 months and my insurance only covered me for 24 visits. At 2-3 visits a week, that didn’t even last for half of the time I had to go. Luckily, the PT office agreed to let me keep coming and just pay the amount the insurance would have paid had I still had coverage ($43 per visit). Overall, I probably paid about $2000.
Angela responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 8:34 am
I fell AT WORK and broke my foot and you wouldn’t believe the non-sense I went through with workmans comp. They had to approve every friday if I could go the next week. Then as I got back to work they transfered me to a store for 2 weeks over an hour away and since our whole departement went we carpooled. I couldn’t keep up with therapy and and work. I also got a hefty 295 bill from the emergency clinic I went to when I fell. It’s currently in collections in MY name as I am waiting for the store to pay. MAJOR BIG BOX retailer. They have the money. I hear ya on the cost of physical therapy.
Matt responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Ouch! I can not believe how much it costs just to be well or get better! Between lack of insurance coverage and high deductibles it is a wonder anyone is able to survive these days. My insurance has a $2,000 deductible per year before they begin to pay anything (after that it is 100% though). I suppose it would be great in horrible circumstances like an accident but it really dissuades me from wanting to get regular checkups or do anything proactive.
Esther responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Tricia, I have the exact same knee problems you have, and I have found that those knee support wraps that you can buy at the drug store help me quite a bit. Don’t get the kind that are only for use during sports. Just buy the regular open kneecap velcro-adjustable wrap braces that you can wear every day and for extended periods. I usually wear mine when I’m doing chores and stuff at home (they can even be worn under jeans or chinos). I take them off when I exercise. My condition has improved greatly over the last month, and I hope to be back to 100% very soon. Good luck!

BTW, I’m “lucky” enough to have a good insurance plan, and so I went through physical therapy for at least 2 months (twice a week visits). I can honestly tell you that you are not missing a thing by skipping out on the therapy sessions and doing the exercises by yourself. Incidentally, a waitress friend gave me the tip about the drug store knee braces…
katie responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
As a physical therapist (who is not getting paid these kind of hourly rates). If you are not significantly improving within 4 visits…. I would suggest finding a different Physical Therapist. Also I am assuming that you went to a private practice did you speak to the owner about payment? Are you definitely going to be billed for this? Very often the explanation of benefits does not necessarily mean that you will be billed…. Good luck with the knee, glad to hear you are feeling better.
Jonathan responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I had to do some PT as well recently. I think the first visit cost nearly $400 before insurance. I stopped going after 3 visits due to the cost (wonder how much the PT keeps vs. the hospital) and also the time commitment during the day.

I just tried to pay attention and have them write everything down so I could repeat it at home.
Tricia responded:
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Esther – thanks for the tip about the knee brace! I did like the taping they did, but it just didn’t stay long at all. If that tape wasn’t so expensive I’d buy some and try to do it myself.

Katie – where I live, I’m limited to only a few places to go for therapy. I didn’t go to a private practice, it was through a hospital. That’s probably a big reason I couldn’t find out how much the visits cost before hand. I’m pretty sure I am going to be billed for this – but I have no idea when the bill will arrive. Our hospital is horrible at timely billing.
JD responded:
Posted: September 3rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Hey Tricia,

I just ready your first blog post here. Is it just the medical bills that caused the debt. I’ll have to read more on your blog. I just googled “debt blogs” and yours was the first to show up. I just got done writing a post about how pissed I am at Wells Fargo…. and wanted to see if anyone else might be feeling my pain. You obviously are feeling the pain… I saw the title of the previous post that said you made it to 8K or so. I hope you reach your goal. It would feel so weightless.
Allie responded:
Posted: November 11th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I went to a PT that charged $72 per 15 minutes, which works out to $288 an hour. (Yeah, I can see why they don’t quote it hourly.) It was for plantar fasciitis and I initially went to get deep tissue massage, which my doc said might help. I ended up just going to two sessions, which were just her showing me some exercises, kind of making sure I was doing them right, then wandering around and looking out the window or joking with her colleague while I did the exercises and stretches. She never did do the massage. I quit going and was just googling to see if this was a total ripoff (my insurance paid 90 percent minus my deductible) or if it was in line with what they usually charge. For $288 an hour, I expect a lot more than a kind of gross communal room and a glorified gym teacher sort of supervising me while I do some exercises! (No offense to PTs – but this woman clearly wasn’t 100 percent focused and reminded me of the gym teachers that would say “give me 100 sit ups” and would then wander out into the hall to chat with another teacher…)
Jim responded:
Posted: January 29th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I’m a PT, and work in a small Hospital based outpatient clinic. The rates for PT services are crazy these days. Our clinic billing range is from $100 to almost $400 per hour. Our actual reimbursement from most insurances,including Medicare is 40 to 55% of billable charges. I have seen the co-pays up to $30 per visit,and I understand some co-pays are even higher. The PT’s in our clinic get paid 30 to $40 per hour. I do talk to the patients, I work with, about their allowable benefits. It is very important to contact your inurance company about what they will pay for, and know more than the therapist, it will get the therapist attention. Home Exercise programs are very important, to control costs.
Frank responded:
Posted: May 31st, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I was sent by my neurologist for PT for a frozen shoulder. THe cost was $880.00 per hour!!!! I only discovered this after going to 9 sessions and the bill showed up on my insurance carriers website. I think I am being robbed; can anyone comment? I immediately cancelled all remaining sessions.
Luis responded:
Posted: October 7th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
People be awared that Medical Care is not free. There is a minimun cost of producing a session in Physical Therapy including but not limited to salaries, rent, taxes, employee benefits(vacations, sick days, holidays, 401K, etc.) office medical and gym equipments, profit, and all other overhead of the clinic. Depending the size of the office, the number of employees, the location of the clinic a(SF vs small town), the length of the session, and all other amenities that the office offers you, etc.; a minimun cost per visit should average about $150. A simple mathematic explains the cost much better. Does you insurance pays for this minimal costs?
maureen responded:
Posted: October 27th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
well, i’m currently reviewing my PT bill and it cost me about $194 per session, including $24 to basically ‘rent’ an ice pack for 15 minutes. plus, my main therapist wanted me to come back for an extra visit even though 2 assistants didn’t think i needed it. if i’d have known it would cost me another $200, i definitely wouldn’t have said yes. sorry, luis, but i think the cost is out of line with what you get.
Bryan Davidson responded:
Posted: November 21st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I am a physical therapist. I am not sure where most of these numbers are coming from. I work in New York. If you go to an outpatient facility with in network benefits the bill is much less. Most insurance companies pay $30-60 dollars a session. That does not count your co-pay so if your copay is $40 the insurance company is only paying $10 in most instances. With worker’s comp and no-fault they pay $67 a session in New York. Just to give you guys some additional numbers. If you are not happy at the place you are going and not getting the care go someplace else.
barbara taylor responded:
Posted: December 13th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
I just received a bill for pt. I went three times for one hour each at St Joseph’s in Houston. I was told that $250 would settle my account. Now, after 10 months, I have gotten a bill for $2,400. That amounts to $1000 per hour..
Steve Ferro responded:
Posted: January 4th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
I just had my first pt session this morning for low-back pain. The therapist showed me some exercises to strengthen my core ab muscles and suggested I return 1x/week. I called the clinic later to ask what the charges were: $191 for the evaluation, then 2 units of strength therapy at $105 each for a total of $401. Totally not worth the expense! I wish I had asked the cost BEFORE the session! Make sure you ask before your get ANYTHING done to you.
Dyanna Rezac responded:
Posted: January 19th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Several good points here. I am a physical therapist with a doctorate degree with a private practice. Thought I’d give some feedback on some of the comments:
1) If you are going to a PT and being treated by a tech, no one is following your exercises, you aren’t getting skilled care and manual therapy with a PT – go somewhere else!!! One of the reasons the rates are what they are for PT is it supposed to be administred with quality care and you are paying for the level of experience needed to provide that care (ie – 7 years to get a doctorate, 5 years for board cert, etc – we are not trained in a weekend course!!!) If you are bing treated like you are in a gym, yup, quit and join a gym for cheaper.
2) The original question was cash rate for a PT visit. If you are not using your insurance or don’t have any, most clinics offer a cash rate at time of service for $70-$100/visit.
3) What you see on an EOB is not what we get paid. We generally have a negotiated rate or are reimbursed at a much lower rate so you might see the bill was $250, we probably only receive $100. The national average of what it costs us to see you as a patient is $81/visit so, if your insurance only pays $65/visit that is a LOSS to us. If they pay $100, then we made $19 for your visit – most of you pay a heck of a lot more for your nails, hair or your car. What is your health worth?
Herb Silver responded:
Posted: February 13th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
This is very interesting for me to read, a physical therapist in private practice in Georgia. I spend the complete time a patient is with me, one on one. Legally I can not use a “tech” or an “aid” to assist me–in Georgia, only a licensed physical therapist can provide care. If you went to PT and were not treated by a PT and were charged as if you were being seen by a PT, that would be fraudulent if you were seen in a PT practice in Georgia. If you were seen in a PT practiced owned by a doctor or a hospital in Georgia, you could be legally charged and treated for PT services even when a non-licensed, none PT provided your care. No matter what I charge, I get reimbursed between $55 to $88/hour–I might charge $500 but I still get the $55-$88 from insurance companies including medicare. If you are not getting hands on, one on one care, instruction, supervision, you are not getting physical therapy (no matter what people are calling it). If you are doing things in the clinic you could do at home or in a gym, you are wasting your money. You should be getting a lot of explanation and justification for the procedures performed and making measurable progress in order to justify the expense. If that isn’t the case, please look for another clinic–most likely a private practice where you are getting the kind of care you feel comfortable paying for.
Mike responded:
Posted: February 15th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
I agree with you that your bill for $222 is slightly high, although like most people have said, you EOB is not the actual bill for you. Like Dyanna said you pay for the expertise of the person that treated you. Unfortunately, you also pay for the clinic’s lease, utilities and ancillary staff’s salaries. Also, the bill has to be inflated so the percentage that the insurance company actually pays to the clinic is high enough to make a small profit. At my clinic, we treat athletes and only athletes only and we do not bill insurance for this reason. We also only charge $50 per visit for a cash rate and we have a pre paid discount for those that we know will need 10 visits or more. Any ways just my two cents
Nicolette responded:
Posted: March 18th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
You may want to check out Priority Health’s website, which outlines an overall cost you should expect:
http://www.priorityhealth.com/memberservices/costs/therapy/physical

I agree with Dyanna that our health should be worth more than our appearance, but in reality many of us just don’t spend that sort of money all the time, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck. It would be great if I had extra money every week, but when you consider that many doctor’s also want to see you on a regular basis, your medications (thanks to Wal-Mart for their $4 prescriptions, I CAN afford to take my meds!) and all the other things they want you to do (see a PT, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, take supplements, etc) it can get VERY expensive, very fast.

I just got back from my first PT, and I’m still on the fence. He talked with me, showed me some stuff and pressed on my back (lower back pain), which was nice; buttt…. was it worth $200? We’ll see the bill first; my insurance carrier told me they should have it processed in a week. I’ll See, too, what happens when I go for another appt. Thus far, I got more benefits from massage therapy for $50 an hour. If I’m paying out of pocket, I’ll be goimg were I get the most bang for my buck, so the next place after PT I’ll be trying will be an acupuncturist. After that, well, who knows? I may be back at PT.