Payments
Physical Therapy Track
All appointments are 45 minutes.
Initial Evaluation: $185
Follow Up: $150
Fitness Track
All appointments are 45 minutes. Shorter appointments available when appropriate.
$135. Rates are subject to review annually.
Cash or check are the accepted methods of payment for our services. Credit cards are not accepted at this time.(Coming Soon )
Why cash-based physical therapy?
Due to the nature of the healthcare industry, which has begun to reimburse less and less, we are out of network with all insurance companies. Insurance companies in the United States are continually cutting reimbursement rates for rehabilitation services and dictating how clinicians treat clients. With this decline in reimbursement, many clinics are forced to treat multiple patients in the hour (this means that therapists are seeing 4+clients at the same time) and lower clients care standards in order to make ends meet. These clinics rotate patients in and use assistants and techs to complete treatments. Patients do not receive the individualized care they need, and are encouraged to go through exercises with little to no supervision. With a cash based practice, we are able to decide how we want to treat clients and we are not regulated by the insurance companies. This allows us to provide the highest quality care for our clients, while keeping them 1-on-1 with their doctor of physical therapy for their appointment, every visit. This increase in quality results in our clients getting better, faster than traditional insurance based physical therapy.
I will not submit claims to your insurance company for Physical Therapy services and do not have a direct relationship with them. If you wish to try to obtain reimbursement from them, the superbill will be provided for you at the end of each session.
Insurance/Payments
Unfortunately, we do not accept any form of medical insurance or Medicare/Medicaid. However, our office provides each client with an itemized bill with traditional ICD-10 codes and CPT codes (called a superbill) at the end of your Physical Therapy Evaluation and Treatment session that you may file with your insurance company. You can also access all receipts in the patient portal to print off at your convenience. For non physical therapy appointments (Pilates, Corrective Exercises Training, and Postpartum Corrective Exercises Training) clients will be given a receipt without a ICD 10 and CPT codes and clients will not be able to submit to insurance since non physical therapy services where provided. Access to these receipts are also available in the portal.
Cash and checks are the accepted methods of payment for our services. At this time credit cards (some exceptions applied) or HSA accounts that process as credit cards are not accepted, but will be at some point in the future. When this is activated you will be able to make online payments in the patient portal. We kindly ask that you have cash or check at each appointment at this time.
Schedule First Visit: You will be sent an email with a link to access a hippa compliant patient portal where all communication and scheduling will be conducted. You will be given a username and password. Once I receive a request for more information, I will call you back as soon as I am available to schedule. I can not guarantee information sent via email is secure, which is why we insist all exchange of information be through the portal.
What is Direct Access?
Maryland is a direct access state; therefore, it is not required, however it is recommended, that you see your primary care doctor prior to seeing Dr. Ratz and that you get a prescription for physical therapy services. In some cases, she may insist after her evaluation that you follow up with your primary depending on the circumstance. All clients are required to have had a physical within the last year, to help rule out any Red Flags. If you haven’t Dr, Ratz will see you, but will require that you make an appointment.
*Please note that we ask that all clients and patients have had a physical within the year to rule out any Red Flags. Maryland is a direct access state, so scripts are not required from your MD, however it is our company policy to stay in contact with your primary doctor as needed when receiving physical therapy services. For Corrective Exercise Training and Pilates no script is needed as no physical therapy services are being provided. We ask that you supply contact information to allow for open communication with those professionals you would like us to keep informed.
Dr Ratz does not want insurance companies to dictate the quality of care that we provide to you, our patient. We are able to spend more time with you caring for your condition than we would be if we had to keep up with the administrative responsibilities and updates/changes to the Medicare system.
Medicare Status
Ingrid Ratz, PT, DPT is a non-Medicare Provider. We do not have a provider number with Medicare. Because we do not have this number, Medicare will not cover services with us that are deemed “medically necessary”. Unfortunately, this means that even if the patient is comfortable paying out of pocket, we legally cannot see them. Medicare’s concern is that Medicare patients should not be taken advantage of and that even if an “Advance Beneficiary Notice” of non-Medicare coverage is signed, it does not assure that the Medicare patient understands that they are not eligible for reimbursement.
We are able to evaluate Medicare patients whose goals are NOT medically necessary, or as Medicare puts it, those who are looking to be seen for “wellness and maintenance” reasons. For these services, you will receive a statement without any medical coding. Without medical coding, statements cannot be submitted to insurance for reimbursement.
Wellness and Maintenance would be classified as any patient with a fitness related goal, such as: reducing pain during exercise, an evaluation to work with a personal trainer, seeking to attain proper alignment before a vacation, etc. All “wellness and maintenance” patients will be responsible for the cost of the appointment and will receive a statement without medical coding. If the patient has Medicare insurance the patient will be required to sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice. These visits cannot be submitted to Medicare for reimbursement under any circumstance.
Workers Comp and Automobile Accidents
We unfortunately are not set up to accept workers comp patients, and we do not have the resources to process and submit for automobile accidents. We can recommend other great full-time physical therapy practices in the area who except workers comp and Personal Injury Claims from an auto accident.