I get asked these questions ALL OF THE TIME. Do you accept insurance? Why don’t you take my insurance? Why are you cash based?
There are many reasons why I decided to not accept insurance here at Zenith Performance.
I want to create an experience that is completely different than that you would get at an in-network insurance based clinic. I want to give my patients the best quality of 1-on-1 treatment time for the full hour! If I took insurance, I would be compromising that. Because of low insurance reimbursement rates, I would have to see 3-4 patients an hour to even make ends meet. That doesn’t allow for quality treatment. That barely allows me enough time to get to know you, your problems, and your goals. I never want to pass my patients off to an aide or someone else to finish up their exercises. That doesn’t allow for a trained eye to correct you on the spot, give you feedback on the spot, change the treatment plan if something isn’t going as expected, etc. I want you to get better and pain-free in the most efficient way and being cash based and seeing you for the entire hour EVERY TIME allows for that.
I also want to be in charge and determine what is best for my patient at that time every visit. I don’t want to answer to someone sitting at this insurance company, who has never worked out or been to PT or been to school to become a musculoskeletal expert, dictating what I can and can’t do with my patient. They don’t know you, they don’t know your injuries/problems, they don’t know your goals. You are just a name on a paper to them. How is that going to assist you in getting better? It’s not. As physical therapists, we went to school for a doctorate degree in the musculoskeletal system and movement. We should get to decide what is best for each and every patient. Being cash-based allows for that.
Being cash based also saves my patients TIME and MONEY. What’s better than that? Seeing a cash based physical therapist means that you ultimately get better quicker because you require less visits to address the same problem because you are getting more 1-on-1 quality attention. Requiring less visits means less time spent driving to and from appointments. Do you really want to spend 20+ minutes driving to and from physical therapy appointments 2-3x a week for 3-6 months? Or do you want to spend that 20+ minutes driving to and from physical therapy 1x a week for 2 months? The second option sounds like it saves a lot more time. We also help you save money! You won’t get any surprise bills from us at a later date. You know exactly what you are going to pay upfront. Each and every time. Add up all your copays for that 2-3x a week for 3-6 months and we come out cheaper in the end and with a lot less time spent on the issue.
To sum everything up from above, going to a cash based physical therapist allows you:
– 1-on-1 treatment time every visit
– Individualized treatment plan based on your goals without worrying about insurance regulations
– Transparency in costs
– Saves you time
– Cost effective because the average cost is lower than most insurance deductibles and copays for 3-6 months of visits
– YOU get to be in charge of your health. NOT your insurance company
Sincerely,
Dr. Hayden Almeida, PT, DPT, ACSM-CPT
Check out my instagram @zenithperformancept for more free tips and videos to help you become resilient for life!