How will you pay for your new Laser Advanced High Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) device your Chiropractic office just financed via one of our financial partners? Will you charge Cash for treatments or incorporate the device into the treatment protocols at your Clinic to Bill Insurance?
Fortunately, you have options when considering how to pay for your equipment and create additional revenue using your higher wattage Laser Advanced HILT device:
1. Cash
Recommended Rate: $~40-50/ 2-4 minute Laser ONLY treatment sessions (pending your prescribed treatment protocols). You will want to educate your patients about the benefits of HILT and conduct general research at your office as to the price point patients would be willing to pay.
A few sample questions you might ask when making a casual inquiry to patients about price sensitivity:
Open Ended: How much would you be willing to pay for a proven treatment that reduces (insert issue eg. arthritis, inflammation, condition x,)? Thoughts?
Cash Payers/ Condition Specific: How much would you pay for a treatment that dramatically improves (insert patient condition)? $30, $40, $50?
Insurance Payers: If your insurance doesn’t cover a therapeutic laser treatment that dramatically reduces your pain with FDA proven results, how much extra would you be willing to pay? $30, $40, $50?
Your patients trust your clinical recommendations and expertise! Casually ask them for their assistance in determining your price point…they may surprise you with recommendations and offer solutions you may not have considered.
The Laser Advanced team can provide a ‘cheat sheet’ of talking points you may give to your patients (improving word of mouth referrals). You can calculate equipment ROI above payoff on the Make Money from Laser Equipment Spreadsheet.
2. Submitting Claims to Insurance
There are options for billing/ insurance when incorporating a HILT device into your practice and patient treatments. Chiropractors are uniquely positioned to benefit from owning HILT equipment because insurance/ billing codes are available that other medical/clinical professionals are not able to bill for.
Insurance Coding: CPT Code 97530
Code 97530 is described as therapeutic exercises/ services aimed at improving a parameter, such as strength, range of motion, etc. It is categorized as therapeutic activities, direct (one on one) patient contact by the provider (use of dynamic activities to improve functional performance), each 15 minutes.
There are a handful of other CPT codes that have been used to code for HILT therapeutic laser therapy activities; several are unique to patient insurance (covered/ not covered) and most are not covered by Medicare.
Optional CPT code examples: 97039*, 97139*, 97032*, 97799*
*Note: If you are considering using these codes, suggest providing a 1-page digital template description (few short paragraphs) of any CPT code used to your billing company that describe:
-the general patient treatment protocol
-why you prescribed the treatment and
-a brief explanation of the treatment/ therapy provided.
Best to cover all bases as more generic CPT codes may be more closely inspected by insurance providers.
Ultimately, when researching/ considering incorporating HILT into your practice, we recommend you speak with Laser Advanced Doctors and request examples of how these individuals incorporate HILT into daily patient treatments or bill insurance for treatment.
Our clinicians suggest you speak with the company that provides your patient insurance/ billing services so see what billing codes apply or discuss options with the individual at your office that manages medical coding.
Talk to your patients about their knowledge of HILT and what they might be willing to pay if the treatment is not covered by insurance.
Having the right information can help you make smart choices when considering if going to go with a ‘Cash’ treatment model or billing insurance by combing laser therapy as part of your overall patient treatment protocols.
For additional data on Insurance Coding and strategies for paying for/ monetizing laser equipment take a deeper dive at Making a Successful Investment for Business Growth with HILT Medical Devices.
Let us know if you have questions via our Contact Form or call us at (866) 425-0323.
