Ask a PT: I have a choice to go through NOVO, a cost savings program, or my regular employer sponsored health insurance for my upcoming total knee joint replacement surgery. Which should I choose?
Answer: Some employers in our area are offering their employees a reduced out of pocket cost for joint replacements and other common orthopedic and other surgical procedures as an alternative to billing the costs through your regular employer sponsored insurance plans. The difference? You may save a few bucks through this unique bundled payment system; however, you might want to know where that savings is coming from. Surgeons generally will not be cutting costs (unless stays can be shortened), but the target for cost savings is limiting a full course of physical therapy that would normally return patients back to their prior level of function. The focus of rehabilitation offered in bundled payment plans s returning patients to safe ambulation- walking “safely,” not as you used to prior to surgery, and certainly not returning you back to your previous high level of function like squatting, kneeling, running, hiking, hunting, and working out. Concern is not even about gaining full range or even full pain reduction during rehab. The keys to cutting costs in these plans is cutting care, plain and simple. There’s no way around this. So, as is typical in life, be careful what you choose, because you get what you pay for.
If you do choose the local bundled payment program for your joint replacement surgery, be sure to ask for physical therapy at MotionWorks, since you are allowed to complete your physical therapy WHEREVER YOU CHOOSE! Since we at MotionWorks refuse to become a member of any plan that would intentionally sacrifice quality of care for cost savings in bundled payment plans, we can offer full physical therapy benefits without cutting your treatment plan short of achieving your max goals, getting you back to your full potential so you can get the most out of your new or post-surgical joint for life.