In this business model the physical therapist and patient agree to a contract for physical therapist services to be provided to help patient reach their rehabiliation goals. The patient pays upfront prior to initiation of physical therapy services which allows the therapist to not need to spend time and energy trying to collect payment from an insurance company. This allows your therapist to focus all their attention on providing the best service possible for you, the patient. Despite being called "cash-based," you may pay for services with cash, credit, debit, Flexibile Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA). In the traditional model, coding for physical therapy services provided (CPT codes) is determined using a standard of "timed" and "untimed" codes. This many times results in confusing bills for patients because the amount billed to insurance will vary session to session due to the nature of the services provided each session. The cash based model eliminates any confusion for the patient and provides clarity in a shared decision making process. Documentation notes are made each therapy session just like in a traditional practice model. Documentation is required for all physical therapists at every session regardless of business model.

Athnetik chooses to operate a mobile cash based physical therapy clinic because we believe it is the best model to maximize patient care and treatment. We do not believe our patients should spend their hard earned money and precious time to not receive full attention their entire treatment session from their physical therapist. Many commercial physical therapy settings require their therapists to see two or more patients each hour causing your therapist to have to bounce back and forth between patients, meaning less time for you receiving hands on care and skilled exercise instruction. As a cash based physical therapy clinic, you are not limited in the types of treatments you can receive to help meet your rehab goals. Your licensed physical therapist can use his professional judgment and offer treatments that he believes would be best for YOU! The insurance companies did not go to school to get their Doctorates of Physical Therapy. Why should you have to listen to them when it comes to your rehabilitation? Not only will this model benefit you in your treatment, out-of-pocket expenses will often be less expensive for patients in a cash only physical therapy model.

The majority of insurance companies, with the exception of Medicare, Medicaid and a few HMOs, will provide payment for "out of network" services provided. Choosing an out of network provider means you choose to see a health care provider who has chosen to not be a participating provider with your insurance company. Many patients elect to receive services from out of network providers in order to see the provider of their choice. The only difference in the cash based model is the health care provider is paid first upfront and the patient is the one waiting for reimbursement from their insurance company.

This means Athnetik has not entered into a contract with your individual insurance company to receive reimbursement based on their contracted rates. There are many insurance companies, with each having their own contractual rates and regulations. Athnetik would rather spend our time and energy working with our patients and clients rather than having to deal with the headache of insurance. Deciding to be an out of network provider to insurance companies has nothing to do with Athnetik's level of expertise and education in the realm of physical therapy. We simply would like to be able to do what is best for our patients without the hassle of having to deal with the insurance companies!

The majority of the time out of pocket expenses will actually be LESS for physical therapy services through Athnetik. The lower costs for treatment with cash based PT stems from our ability to charge less per visit due to a streamlined billing structure- simply a cash agreement for services rendered. Being cash based does not require Athentik to hire billing personnel or needing to pay high fees to a third party billing service. This allows Athentik staff to focus all our energy on patient care and the written goals for our patients! Our prices are straightforward and you will never receive a surprise bill from Athentik. We allow patients to make informed decisions regarding the costs of their health care choices.

The process is very simple! Athnetik LLC will provide you with a superbill which you may submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. The superbill is essentially an itemized list of services your physical therapist will have provided during your session along with other additional information identifying Athentik LLC as your provider. We take care of the paperwork and all you have to do is submit to your insurance company. It is that easy!

As of current Medicare regulations, it is illegal for a physical therapist to accept cash pay from Medicare patients for services that may be covered under Medicare, regardless of if the services provided meet all treatment, documentation, and HIPAA requirements and there is a physician referral.

Please call your insurance company and ask about your coverage to be seen by an out of network physical therapist.