Why Cash Based?

A lot of people ask why Synaptic doesn’t accept insurances, and it’s a very fair question. Before I answer it I want to clarify a few very important things.

I don’t dislike insurance nor do I think people shouldn’t have insurance. A principle tenant of Synaptic Therapy is caring for people. We ourselves have and use insurance, we see mostly in network providers, and appreciate the insurance we have. We also firmly believe that high quality health care is an essential human right. I don’t simply feel that people deserve to have life saving treatment, but also treatment that improves their quality of life. This especially includes access to high quality mental health care.

That being said I have a few reasons Synaptic doesn’t take insurance at this time:

1. It allows us to treat patients without the influence of insurance companies. The only decisions that I make are those that are best for my patients and how to improve their health, reduce their impairment, and optimize their function. We can use treatments that are unconventional or cutting edge and experimental because we don’t have to worry about whether or not an insurance company will reimburse for it.
2. It allows us to see patients for things we usually wouldn’t be able to. Most insurances don’t pay for skilled maintenance, return to sports training, sport or performance enhancement, or generalized health and wellness services, postural education, etc. The rule of thumb for most insurances is that if it doesn’t return you to an Activity of Daily Living they won’t cover it. No goals about getting back to sports or recreational activities if you are using insurance!
3. Insurances don’t cover preventative therapy services. Most insurance companies won’t consider skilled therapy necessary for balance until you have had a fall that causes an injury, which seems pretty backwards, right? We think it makes more sense to prevent injuries, falls, and diseases at Synaptic Physical Therapy.
4. It reduces administrative burden. We spend more time on your treatment, planning or researching your care, or spending time with our families. We don’t have to deal with fighting an insurance company in order to run the business.
5. It allows us to treat ethically. Did you know your therapist shouldn’t be billing you for time they don’t spend one on one with you? Unless they frequently bill “group therapy” for when they are with multiple patients, they shouldn’t be billing for time with you and multiple other people. If the therapist is having a technician show you exercises they REALLY shouldn’t be billing you for that time. By not accepting insurance we are able to provide high quality one-on-one care that meets our desire to run an ethical business.

A cash based practice allows us to treat patients in a way that aligns with our values and provide the highest level of care. Even as a cash based practice many of our patients can still submit for reimbursement through their insurance company for out-of-network services. Patients can check with their insurance providers about their policy for reimbursement of out of pocket physical therapy services, and we provide a detailed super bill to make the process as simple as possible.