Physical Therapy First: Better Care, Lower Costs
What if employers could improve care for employees while reducing one of the largest categories of health plan spending?
Brian McQuilkin and Jake Hoeppner of ActivePT in Rochester will address that question at our Building a Better Employer Health Plan workshop on Wednesday, August 5. Brian and Jake will be among the presenters explaining practical ways employers can buy better health care, remove financial barriers for employees and reduce unnecessary claims.
The workshop will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. at Haley Comfort Systems in Rochester. Brian’s presentation, “MSK Spend: The Hidden Cost Driver Employers Ignore,” will examine why musculoskeletal conditions are such a significant expense and how providing faster access to physical therapy can improve outcomes while reducing costs. Learn more and register for the August 5 workshop. (Eventbrite)
As a preview of their workshop presentation, Brian and Jake joined me for this episode of the Take Charge with HELPcare podcast.
ActivePT was founded in Rochester in 2008 with a model that encourages physical therapists to specialize in the conditions they’re most passionate about treating. This enables therapists to build deeper expertise, study the latest research and provide highly focused care.
Brian and Jake believe physical therapy should often be the first stop for people experiencing back, neck, shoulder, knee or other musculoskeletal problems.
The traditional path may begin with a primary care appointment, followed by imaging, a specialist consultation, medication, an injection and possibly surgery. Each step adds cost, and patients may wait weeks before receiving treatment that addresses the underlying functional problem.
Physical therapy offers another path.
Jake shared the example of a partial rotator cuff tear. After an MRI reveals the tear, a patient may be referred for an injection or surgical consultation. But these tears are common and don’t always require surgery.
A physical therapist can help reduce pain and inflammation, strengthen the shoulder and enable the patient to return to work and normal activities. In many cases, patients receiving high-quality physical therapy achieve results comparable to those who undergo surgery—but without the operation, medication, recovery time and tens of thousands of dollars in additional expense.
That’s the idea behind ActivePT Direct, which gives employers a way to contract directly for physical therapy services.
Employees can receive care without paying out of pocket, and employers pay only when the service is used. ActivePT also aims to see employees within 24 to 48 hours, reducing the likelihood that someone with a painful but manageable problem will visit an emergency department or enter a more expensive treatment pathway.
Minnesota is a direct-access state, so patients generally don’t need a physician referral before seeing a physical therapist. ActivePT’s therapists also work with primary care practitioners, imaging providers and specialists when a patient’s condition requires services beyond physical therapy.
Employers often assume health care costs are beyond their control. They find themselves in an escalating loop of accepting higher deductibles to reduce premium increases, which leads to employees avoiding care because of the out-of-pocket cost. Often this postponed care leads to unbearable pain or serious complications and a much bigger hospital bill.
Direct primary care and direct-contract physical therapy provide a better alternative.
The goal isn’t simply to pay less for an appointment. It’s to help employees receive the right care first, before a manageable problem becomes an expensive one.
Watch below or on YouTube, or listen to my full conversation with Brian McQuilkin and Jake Hoeppner on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and then join us August 5 to learn how these ideas can become part of a better employer health plan.
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