How much does a Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) typically cost in the United States?

Across 2,631 U.S. hospitals in 52 states, the modeled national fair BaseRate for Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) is $38, with most hospital negotiated prices falling between $27 and $103.

Why do hospital prices for Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) vary across facilities?

Commercial rates are negotiated individually between hospital systems and insurers, creating wide local dispersion even within the same metro area. Comparing facility-specific cash and in-network rates before scheduling care helps avoid overpaying.

National price data · 2,631 hospitals

Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) cost

What a physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) costs across the U.S. — and the fair price to aim for.

Near Fair BaseRate Benchmark

1.00×vs. Fair Market Price

Typical commercial prices here match the fair market benchmark (1.00×) after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.

86/100 · Verified

86/100Hover Any Check Below to See How Prices Were Audited

File Completeness90

Price Logic88

Peer Alignment86

Clean Billing83

Real Cash Discount84

Regional Value Leader

Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.

Behavioral Pricing FingerprintLow Shoppable & Low Captive

Uniform Value Leader

Children's Home of Pittsburgh maintains disciplined commercial pricing across both elective shoppable care (0.5× Medicare) and captive emergency/ancillary departments (0.5× Medicare). Patients and health plans benefit from predictable, below-benchmark rates (0.49× Fair BaseRate) without hidden ancillary cross-subsidization.

#2 of 134 in PA · 1st State Percentile#46 of 3,385 in U.S. · 1st National Percentile

Advantage

Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)

Elective shoppable care is priced 51% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.49×)
Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 0% of shoppable procedures (25/100 Cash Honesty)
CMS clinical safety score (54/100 safety score) with 72% patient recommendation
IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (23.6% AGB cap)

Watchout

Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)

Even at low-cost facilities (1.00× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
Commercial insurance median sits at 0.49× Fair BaseRate (0.5× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
Specialty infusion drugs (J-codes) average 1.1× Medicare — verify per-unit billing on itemized statements
Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 4.1× Medicare (22¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)

Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging

0.5× Medicare

Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.

Back-Door Captive & ER1.00× Divergence

0.5× Medicare

Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.

Quantile Tail Spread+10% Upper Tail

Q25 0.36× · Q50 0.49× · Q75 0.54×

Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.

Select any lens to inspect department markups, federal cost accounting, or insurer discounts.

Department & Integrity Multiples (vs. CMS Medicare Cost Anchor) Green ≤1.3× · Teal 1.3–1.8× · Amber 1.8–2.5× · Rose >2.5×

Front-Door Shoppable CareFront-Door Shoppable

0.5× MedicareGood

Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive

0.6× MedicareGood

Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable

0.5× MedicareGood

Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive

0.7× MedicareGood

Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive

0.7× MedicareGood

Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive

1.1× MedicareGood

Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes

0% Cash Edge · 25/100Watchout

CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes

3 CMS · 54/100Elevated

National Geographic Price Intelligence · 50-State + DC/PR Cartogram

National State Price Index Heatmap · Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise)

State commercial price index vs. U.S. median (1.00×) and average Medicare multiple across all 53 priced states & territories

<0.93× Below Fair Price 0.93–1.05× Near Average 1.05–1.18× Elevated >1.18× High-Cost State

AK1.06× 1.3× Med ME1.00× 1.2× Med WA1.11× 1.3× Med ID0.89× 1.1× Med MT1.60× 1.9× Med ND2.29× 2.8× Med MN1.34× 1.6× Med WI1.29× 1.5× Med MI0.86× 1.0× Med VT1.03× 1.2× Med NH1.03× 1.2× Med OR1.23× 1.5× Med NV1.09× 1.3× Med WY1.09× 1.3× Med SD0.94× 1.1× Med IA1.20× 1.4× Med IL0.91× 1.1× Med IN1.20× 1.4× Med OH1.03× 1.2× Med PA0.83× 1.0× Med NY1.17× 1.4× Med MA1.23× 1.5× Med CA0.94× 1.1× Med UT1.17× 1.4× Med CO1.17× 1.4× Med NE2.03× 2.4× Med MO0.91× 1.1× Med KY0.86× 1.0× Med WV0.80× 1.0× Med VA0.97× 1.2× Med MD1.11× 1.3× Med NJ1.83× 2.2× Med CT1.40× 1.7× Med AZ1.77× 2.1× Med NM1.11× 1.3× Med KS1.43× 1.7× Med AR0.91× 1.1× Med TN0.83× 1.0× Med NC0.83× 1.0× Med SC0.86× 1.0× Med DE1.31× 1.6× Med DC0.97× 1.2× Med RI1.71× 2.1× Med OK1.17× 1.4× Med LA0.80× 1.0× Med MS0.91× 1.1× Med AL0.83× 1.0× Med GA0.86× 1.0× Med HI0.91× 1.1× Med TX1.11× 1.3× Med FL0.89× 1.1× Med PR0.57× 0.7× Med

PR0.57×0.7× Med LA0.80×1.0× Med WV0.80×1.0× Med AL0.83×1.0× Med NC0.83×1.0× Med PA0.83×1.0× Med TN0.83×1.0× Med GA0.86×1.0× Med KY0.86×1.0× Med MI0.86×1.0× Med SC0.86×1.0× Med FL0.89×1.1× Med ID0.89×1.1× Med AR0.91×1.1× Med HI0.91×1.1× Med IL0.91×1.1× Med MO0.91×1.1× Med MS0.91×1.1× Med CA0.94×1.1× Med SD0.94×1.1× Med DC0.97×1.2× Med VA0.97×1.2× Med ME1.00×1.2× Med NH1.03×1.2× Med OH1.03×1.2× Med VT1.03×1.2× Med AK1.06×1.3× Med NV1.09×1.3× Med WY1.09×1.3× Med MD1.11×1.3× Med NM1.11×1.3× Med TX1.11×1.3× Med WA1.11×1.3× Med CO1.17×1.4× Med NY1.17×1.4× Med OK1.17×1.4× Med UT1.17×1.4× Med IA1.20×1.4× Med IN1.20×1.4× Med MA1.23×1.5× Med OR1.23×1.5× Med WI1.29×1.5× Med DE1.31×1.6× Med MN1.34×1.6× Med CT1.40×1.7× Med KS1.43×1.7× Med MT1.60×1.9× Med RI1.71×2.1× Med AZ1.77×2.1× Med NJ1.83×2.2× Med NE2.03×2.4× Med ND2.29×2.8× Med

5 Lowest-Price States (Confounder-Isolated Value Leaders)

PR0.57×(0.7×)LA0.80×(1.0×)WV0.80×(1.0×)AL0.83×(1.0×)NC0.83×(1.0×)

5 Highest-Markup States (Strict Bill Audit Recommended)

ND2.29×(2.8×)NE2.03×(2.4×)NJ1.83×(2.2×)AZ1.77×(2.1×)RI1.71×(2.1×)

The BaseRate high confidence

$38

the fair national price for a physical therapy (therapeutic exercise)

typically $27–$103 across 2,631 hospitals · how we calculate it

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

2,631

hospitals priced

states

3.8×

price spread — where shopping matters

1.2×

vs. Medicare

Across 2,631 hospitals in 52 states, a physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) has a fair BaseRate of $38 and typically costs $27–$103. The cheapest state is PR; the priciest is ND.

Cheapest hospitals for a physical therapy (therapeutic exercise)

Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise) cost by state

AK $37 3 hospitals AL $29 43 hospitals AR $32 43 hospitals AZ $62 43 hospitals CA $33 165 hospitals CO $41 53 hospitals CT $49 12 hospitals DC $34 4 hospitals DE $46 7 hospitals FL $31 119 hospitals GA $30 63 hospitals HI $32 19 hospitals IA $42 48 hospitals ID $31 21 hospitals IL $32 103 hospitals IN $42 86 hospitals KS $50 92 hospitals KY $30 56 hospitals LA $28 75 hospitals MA $43 45 hospitals MD $39 4 hospitals ME $35 25 hospitals MI $30 66 hospitals MN $47 66 hospitals MO $32 71 hospitals MS $32 57 hospitals MT $56 15 hospitals NC $29 53 hospitals ND $80 14 hospitals NE $71 60 hospitals NH $36 15 hospitals NJ $64 47 hospitals NM $39 15 hospitals NV $38 22 hospitals NY $41 79 hospitals OH $36 97 hospitals OK $41 71 hospitals OR $43 31 hospitals PA $29 112 hospitals PR $20 8 hospitals RI $60 6 hospitals SC $30 45 hospitals SD $33 11 hospitals TN $29 67 hospitals TX $39 248 hospitals UT $41 35 hospitals VA $34 56 hospitals VT $36 9 hospitals WA $39 38 hospitals WI $45 66 hospitals WV $28 18 hospitals WY $38 4 hospitals

Inline Bill X-Ray & 501(r) Calculator 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · Free Care ≤200% FPL · AGB Cap 36.3%

Audit a Bill or Quote at U.S. Hospital Benchmark (Zero PHI Required)

Fair BaseRate™ $38

Medicare Rate $22

Self-Pay Cash Request Quote

Insurer Median $35

1. Amount on Your Bill or Quote ($) Pre-filled with U.S. Hospital Benchmark’s charged/list benchmark

2. Household Annual Income ($) Screened against 2026 HHS Federal Poverty Guidelines

3. Household Size (1–8) 2026 FPL: $15,650 + $5,500 per additional person

Step 1 · 501(r) Charity Care Check 501(r) AGB Cap: $30 (274% FPL)

Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $30

At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (36.3% of gross = $30).

Step 2 · Cash vs. Insurance Arbitrage Request Prompt-Pay Quote

Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible

Ask U.S. Hospital Benchmark's billing desk for their written 45 CFR § 180 discounted self-pay cash price and Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act.

Step 3 · Fair BaseRate Target +$46 Above Fair BaseRate

Negotiate Toward $38 Fair BaseRate ($22 Medicare)

Your bill ($84) is $46 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($38) and 3.8× the $22 Medicare rate.

1-Click Factual Dispute Summary: Copy a citation-backed benchmark memo (with CMS CCN, CPT code, Medicare reference, Fair BaseRate, and 26 U.S.C. § 501(r) calculations) to paste into patient-portal messages or billing appeals.