What physical therapy costs when you pay without insurance

What hospitals charge for therapy

Physical therapy is care from a trained therapist. The therapist uses exercise and hands-on methods to help you move and feel better after an injury, surgery or pain. Many people want to know the cost before they start. The answer has two parts, which are the price of each visit and the number of visits.

A 2021 study in JAMA Network Open collected the cash prices that 1,426 hospitals posted online for therapeutic exercise. A cash price is the price for someone paying without insurance. The median was $87.40 for one unit, and the middle half of hospitals charged between $63 and $129.80. A median is the middle number, so half of the hospitals charged less and half charged more.

According to the American Medical Association, a unit in this billing code is 15 minutes. A visit of 45 minutes to an hour may be billed as several units, and it may include other services too. For that reason $87.40 is not the price of a whole visit. It is the price of a short block of one kind of exercise care at hospitals in 2021.

What a small study of a cash-only clinic found

A 2019 study in the journal Health Care Manager looked at 48 patient charts from one physical therapy clinic that took cash only. The patients had been discharged between 2013 and 2016. The authors found an average cost of $97.52 per visit and $780.19 per episode of care. An episode of care is the whole set of visits for one problem.

This is a small study of one clinic, so it does not tell you what your local clinic charges. We include it here for two reasons that are easy to see. It shows that a cash-only clinic can price a whole visit near the hospital price for a single unit. It also shows that the total for a course of care can climb into the hundreds of dollars.

Why the total depends on the number of visits

The price of one visit matters less than the number of visits. A therapist usually sets a plan after the first exam, and the plan says how often you come and for how many weeks. We cannot tell you how many visits you will need. That depends on your injury and your body, and the therapist who examines you has to decide.

The list below shows the parts of the bill that tend to change the price.

• The first visit is called an evaluation, when the therapist examines you and builds your plan, and it may be priced differently from later visits.
• Each unit of care, such as exercise, hands-on work or a machine treatment, can carry its own charge.
• A hospital outpatient department can charge higher prices than a private clinic for the same kind of care, so call both kinds of places.
• Equipment such as a brace, bands or a cane is usually a separate cost.
• A cancelled visit may carry a fee, so ask about the clinic's rule.

Ask the clinic to explain how it bills so you can compare two places fairly. Our guide on asking for the cash price has a phone script that works for therapy clinics too.

Seeing a physical therapist without a referral

The American Physical Therapy Association reports on direct access to physical therapists. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands give people provisional or unrestricted direct access. Direct access means you can book a visit without first getting a doctor's referral. The group adds that some limits tied to referrals remain in a number of states. We do not list state rules here, so call the clinic and ask what applies where you live.

Skipping the referral can save you the price of a doctor visit. That does not mean you should avoid a doctor. A primary care doctor can look at your problem and tell you whether therapy fits. A direct primary care practice is one way to get that visit for a flat monthly fee, usually $50 to $200 a month. It is not insurance, so therapy bills are a separate cost. You can search for a cash-pay doctor near you on our site.

Ways to bring the cost down

Start by asking each clinic for its self-pay rate per visit and whether a package of visits costs less. Find out whether a discount applies when you pay in full. Many plans include exercises you practice on your own, so ask the therapist whether part of your plan can be done at home. We cannot say whether that fits your case, and the therapist has to decide.

A community health center may also help you with the first step. These clinics charge on a sliding scale based on income, and our guide on community health centers shows how to find one. Ask whether the center offers therapy itself or can refer you to a lower-cost option.

Hospitals must post their prices online as well. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says each hospital has to give clear, accessible pricing information on its website. The files can be long and hard to read, so a phone call to the billing office is often faster. Ask for the self-pay price of the exact service the therapist plans to bill. Write down the date and the name of the person who gave it to you.

If a bill is already waiting, call the billing office and ask for a payment plan before it reaches a collector. This page is general information and is not medical advice. If you have chest pain, trouble breathing or another emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest ER.