F.A.Q.S
General Questions
What is Physical Therapy
Physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education.
Physical therapists diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to people at the end of life. Many patients have injuries, disabilities, or other health conditions that need treatment. But PTs also care for people who simply want to become healthier and to prevent future problems.
Physical therapists examine each person and then develops a treatment plan to improve their ability to move, reduce or manage pain, restore function, and prevent disability.
Physical therapists can have a profound effect on people’s lives. They help people achieve fitness goals, regain or maintain their independence, and lead active lives. (see: apta.org)
Do I need a referral from my physician?
No! However, some insurances do require it. We recommend contacting your insurance to see if you need a physician’s referral.
Can a physical therapist help me?
If you are unsure if your situation is appropriate for therapy, please give me a call for a free consultation.
Will I be paying to hold Ice on my injury?
No! While I may recommend the use of heat or cold packs, I will not charge you therapy time for this. You will not need to pay me for things you can do at home.
Do you have techs/aids to assist you?
No! You will receive direct, one-on-one, therapy from Jenni for every session you receive from NoCo. I only see one patient at a time in my clinic.
Can you do Telehealth visits?
Yes! However, some manual physical therapy services will need to be provided in office.
Are you licensed?
YES! Jenni is a licensed physical therapist in the State of Colorado.
Payment Questions
Do you take insurance?
Some insurances are accepted. Please call to see if we are in or out of network with your insurance.
Do I need to have health insurance?
Absolutely not. We have private pay rates that are very affordable.
Can I get a superbill?
Yes. We can provide you with superbills (a fancy name for medical receipt that includes the necessary codes) to send self-claims to your insurance company.
Why would I not want to use my health insurance benefits for physical therapy?
Short Answer: Sometimes it is cheaper not to use your insurance and you have much more freedom in determining the course of treatment that is right for you!
Long Answer: This is a complicated question, and really depends on various factors within your insurance plan. Here are a few circumstances in which privately paying for your therapy makes sense:
Case A
This person has a $10,000 deductible, which means that your insurance is not going to pay anything until you cover that $10,000. When a practice is asked to bill insurance, it incurs higher costs, which are then translated to the patient. (This is part of the reason that you see that simple things costs ridiculous prices at the doctor’s office). If one is privately paying for your services, most providers (NoCo Foundations Physical Therapy included) will offer a considerably lower rate. If the high deductible is unlikely to be met, then there would be considerable savings to simply pay privately-the insurance company isn’t going to pay anything anyway.
Case B
This person has a $50 copay per visit. Unfortunately, the insurance company only chips in a few dollars on top of that per visit. This means that the practitioner is forced to have short visits to simply cover costs ($50 for 30 minutes of direct treatment time is acceptable, but $50 for 60 minutes of direct treatment time would incur a loss of money). Therefore, this person is likely to end up having short sessions with their therapist and having to come back more frequently. This means that they are likely comping to PT 2-3 times per week and still inuring $100-150 costs weekly. In some situations, shorter and more frequent visits are the best choice, but in other situations this is not the case. When considering the extra time and money spent to travel to and from PT sessions, this person would have been better off to see their PT for 1 hour 1 x week and pay the private pay fee.
In General
Health insurance companies have a strong hold on the treatment you get. By privately paying for your physical therapy, you are able to have much more freedom in determining the course of treatment that is right for you.