In our current insurance system:

• Frequently physical therapy patients encounter challenges with commercial carriers through the imposition of high cost and wide-ranging copay and cost share requirements.
• In some cases, more than 50% of the cost burden falls on the patient through cost-share fees imposed by the insurer.
• This becomes a tremendous financial barrier to care when the patient is asked to pay more out of pocket than what the insurer reimburses the PT.
• High copays can lead to patients managing chronic or acute pain with low-cost opioids, which can lead to addiction, dependency, and death.
• High copays are a significant disincentive to care that disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities and lower-income patients.
• Insurance providers are setting co-pay rates at a level that has shown to decrease the utilization of physical therapy services. [This affects all patients but has disproportionately impacted lower-income patients].