How to Respond When a Patient Says, “I Just Want to Use My Insurance”

Featuring Dr. Danny Matta, Founder of PT Biz

This is one of the most common (and frustrating) objections cash-based PTs hear:

“This all sounds great… but I really just want to use my insurance.”

In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Dr. Danny Matta breaks down exactly how to respond without sounding defensive or salesy—and how to turn these conversations into powerful moments of education and trust-building.

🎯 Key Takeaways

1. The Landscape Has Changed

Today’s healthcare consumers are more informed than ever.
High deductibles, HSA accounts, and out-of-pocket expenses have made patients more aware of what they’re actually paying for—and open to alternatives.

This shift has made it easier for cash-based clinics to position themselves as a better experience, not just a different one.

2. Agree and Redirect

When someone says they want to use insurance, don’t argue. Instead, respond with empathy:

“Totally get it—I have insurance too. Can I ask… do you know your deductible?”

Most people don’t. When they realize they’d be paying out of pocket either way, the playing field levels fast.

This isn’t about manipulation—it’s about helping them understand how their plan actually works.

3. Highlight the Difference in Care

Once you’ve clarified the cost conversation, shift to value.

Insurance-Based Clinic:

• High volume

• Short appointments

• Multiple patients per hour

• Generalized care

Cash-Based Clinic:

• One-on-one treatment

• Customized plans

• Specialized expertise

• Concierge-level communication and follow-up

“You only have one body. Do you really want the cheapest care available for it?”

This is a powerful mindset shift.

4. If They Still Say No—Follow Up with Value

Even if they walk away, the relationship isn’t over.

• Send a personalized email thanking them for their time.

• Include a simple exercise or stretch based on their concern.

• Reconnect in 1–2 weeks to ask how they’re doing.

This positions you as the expert—even when they’re not your client yet.

5. Real Example: The Triathlete Who Came Back

Dr. Matta shares a story of a 35-year-old triathlete who declined care to use insurance.
He walked into a high-volume clinic and was handed a generic paper with an exercise demo… featuring a 75-year-old woman.

He knew immediately he was in the wrong place—and came back. That patient ended up becoming a long-term client.

Sometimes, they have to experience the difference to appreciate what you offer.

💡 Take Action

Here’s how to turn this into a system:

• Always have the insurance/cost discussion before they walk in.

• Use empathy, logic, and storytelling—not pressure.

• Don’t take objections personally.

• Follow up with helpful content and check-ins.

Fortune is in the follow-up—and so is your next long-term client.

🚀 Want Help Turning Objections Into Booked Patients?

If you want to learn how to grow a thriving cash-based clinic without relying on insurance:

👉 Visit PhysicalTherapyBiz.com
👉 Book a Free Discovery Call

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Ready to elevate your practice? Book a call at the link below with one of our expert consultants today and start your journey to delivering unparalleled physical therapy.

Podcast Transcript

 Hey, Danny Matay here, founder of PT Biz, and today we're gonna talk about how do you respond when a patient says, I just want to use my insurance.

So this is a common question that we have to deal with if we have out of network, hybrid, uh, or even especially in the case of cash-based clinics, like the clinics that we work with primarily in the clinic that I started over a decade ago. So. This can be a frustrating question to answer, and for a lot of people, this actually is a great way to position what you do in a very positive lens.

Now, keep in mind when I, when I was first having these conversations with people, this was 2014, so the landscape is quite different now in comparison to 2014 because. Deductibles have gotten worse. People have more skin in the game. There's way more HSA accounts, uh, people are what I would consider more informed consumers.

And what I dealt with was, it was almost like people thought I was being a jerk because I wouldn't take their insurance, you know? And, and I would have to explain to them like, the only way that I can work with you in the manner that I think is appropriate is I can't take your insurance. Because if I did, it would pay me like 75 bucks.

Uh, to work with you and I, I can't do that in an hour. You know, it just doesn't, it doesn't add up for the business. So what happens? We have to put ourself in a position where we have to learn how to have intelligent conversations and handle these objections and help people realize that, you know, there's another option.

It may or may not be appropriate for them, but they at least have to look at it from different angles. And, uh, this has gotten easier in some ways, but also somewhat harder because again, the. The consumer's more informed. There's also more options. When in 2014, it was like me and one other person in the city, so we didn't have a lot of competition when it came to that, you know, one-to-one performance-based cash PT approach.

Now, there's a lot of options, right? With that though, there's a lot more people looking for that option. So it's, it's interesting. There's pros and cons in terms of the direction that it's trending, but, um, this question has gotten easier and easier in many ways to actually be able to respond to, but.

There's a couple directions you can go. Okay. So normally this happens either in person, hopefully not. Hopefully you've talked to 'em before they've come in your office because it's so much better to not have any surprises. I think one of the biggest mistakes people can make is they shy away from having a discussion about, uh, what it costs and what, um, you know, what, what insurance does or does not pay for.

And then when somebody gets in your office, if it's a surprise, it sucks because they, they think that you're trying to like. Bait and switch them. And you literally might just be nervous about talking about money, uh, but it doesn't come off that way to the consumer. So you gotta be able to effectively have these conversations before they even show up in your office so that there's not any surprises and they don't take what you're doing the wrong way.

So if somebody comes in and they say, you know, or someone's talking to to you and they say, Hey, this all sounds great, you sound awesome. I'd really like to use my insurance right. There's a couple different directions you can go with this one. And you always, you never wanna be confrontational, you know, you always want to be, uh, agree and redirect.

It's like a, uh, improv concept, right? So if somebody's like, you know what, I really want to use my insurance, and I would say something to the effect of, I totally get it. I have insurance too. And, you know, I would prefer to use my insurance, but do you mind if I ask you a question? And ask for permission and ask them, do you know what your deductible is?

Like, do you know, actually know what your insurance would pay for? And sometimes people don't know, right? And it can be as simple as just like, would you mind just pull out your insurance card and take a look at it? And they look at it and they say, okay, my deductible is $5,000. All right. Do you know what that means?

Like do you understand these terms? 'cause it can be very confusing in insurance and I definitely want, definitely wanna use your insurance, but I want you to understand what your insurance will actually pay for, you know, and if they don't know or if they know, yeah, I have to pay this before insurance will pay for anything.

And I could say, yeah, it's exactly right. So, you know the, you have a high deductible and the only way that you win. Is if you meet your deductible and then your insurance starts paying for stuff. And that's not really a win for anybody. Right? That doesn't seem like a win for you and for us. It's definitely not something that we would wanna see for $5,000 worth of care.

Like, that's very unlikely. Um, so whether, whether you work with us or you go to an in-network clinic. You're gonna be paying out of pocket no matter what, because you haven't met your deductible. And that's just the way insurance works. It doesn't actually pay for anything until you've met your deductible, except for some preventative stuff, like going to obviously, you know, a, a checkup or something, but not a lot of things.

So you can go that direction. That's more of a logical direction, right? It's like a do, I mean, what, what does your insurance pay for? Let's, let's see if the playing field is level and if it's level man. We're probably gonna convert that person because you could say, cool, and like, yeah, you could go to an insurance clinic and you're gonna, you know, you're gonna see a, a clinician, they're probably good, but they're busy working with multiple people at once.

They're, they're working with a gamut of people that go from, you know, young kids to. Geriatric patients that are on Medicare that are getting over joint replacements, stuff like that. And, uh, they're just not gonna be able to in individualize your care the way that, that you deserve for it to be. Because they have to be generalists and they have to, um, be able to see a lot of people at once and you're not gonna get as much attention because of that.

So that's one direction. The other direction would be more specialized. This is what we work with, this is what we specialize in. We're working with you one-on-one. Everything we do is. Custom, uh, built and curated for you. There's concierge level of communication and care where you can get in touch with us, with us whenever you need to make sure you're getting the right, the right care, and we frankly just get better outcomes in this setting with this, the type of person that you are with this niche, right?

That's, that's obviously reaching out to you. Because if they're having a conversation with you and they fit your home run box in terms of what you crush it with, with a patient, you should be able to competently say that. And it has nothing to do with clinicians in high volume clinics. 'cause there's a lot of great clinicians in high volume clinics.

They just don't have the time. They don't have the mental bandwidth to be as accurate and to be able to give the level of care to somebody because they, they're working with way too many people. That's just the reality and that's why it's frustrating for them too, if they're really good. So we can do that.

So you can redirect this as, hey, this is, this is concierge level curated, specialized for you. Over here is generalized. This is really, for most people, this is gonna be a cheaper option. Because you know that that's what accepts their insurance. And if they admit their deductible, then they obviously are, it's not as much skin in the game for them.

They don't have to pay as much. What can be great, but also it's like, do you want to go the cheapest route you possibly can with this po this problem with your body, right? Which is you only have one of. Um, you know, so you can start to position it in a different way. So logically what's your deductible?

It can also be, you know, alright, more status, more, um, you know, specifically based on what they're looking for, uh, based on the value of their time, right? Like, which option do you want? And there's, there's lots of different options for lots of different services in the, in the world. We're no different. Uh, and we're not for everybody either, right?

So like, this is something you can definitely position yourself as, but one of two directions because. Somebody's either gonna level playing field deductible, or they're, they're, they have like great insurance. They're like, no, I've got great insurance. Like, I, uh, I don't have a deductible. Okay, cool. That's totally fair.

So now it comes down to what are you looking for? You know, are you looking to go the traditional route and this is what you get and you can name all the things that are, you know, like sort of the, the. Negative side of a high volume clinic where especially there's like multiple people and it's more generalized.

They don't have as specialized of equipment typically, or knowledge bases with the niche you're talking about, or this one-to-one concierge. You know, really specialized approach. It's gonna be tailored to them and be the best thing for them that they can. Do if they can afford it. Right. And it's just a matter of whether they're interested in investing in their health.

So now let's say that doesn't work, and let's say they're like, you know what, no, I still wanna use my, I still wanna use my insurance. Okay, cool. You could go the route of checking their out-of-network benefits. You could get your office manager to do that. Let's say you just skip that and, and they decide, all right, I'm just gonna go see somebody else.

'cause they're dug in, they don't want to use, uh, their insurance. Here's what you do in this scenario. You always want to leave the relationship with value added to the other person. So I would send them an email thanking them for their time in having the discussion with you and saying, here's. But based on what you've told me, here's what I think is going on.

It's my best guess in the limited time that we've had to have a discussion. But I would recommend try this, you know, one or two exercises. Typically for us, we get the best results, uh, with some sort of self soft tissue release technique or self, some self joint mode. Something very easy they can do. Maybe with a little cross ball.

And we know we're not creating a long-term change with this, but if I can send 'em a video and they can make even a short-term change in their symptoms, I look pretty damn smart and I look like a pretty great option if it doesn't work out somewhere else. So I'm gonna send 'em an email. I'm gonna thank 'em for their time.

I'm gonna say, Hey, I think you should try this. 'cause I think it sounds like this could alleviate some of your ankle pain. You know, just do this one exercise. Here's a video describing what to do. Uh, you know, let us know, you know, uh, if, if you need anything else from us. Sometimes that in its own right is enough to get people to come back in and work with you.

The other thing you can do is once you do that, check back in with them in about two weeks because you can reach out or you can have your staff reach out if you have, uh, people at your front desk and just check in and say, Hey, this is so and so from name your clinic. How's everything going? Just wanted to make sure you're getting the care that you were looking for and getting the results that you were looking for with your knee pain.

Simple as that, and you'd be shocked how many people they need to go and experience what it feels like to be in a hospital clinic. They need to go and experience what it feels like to be in a high volume clinic, and I'll tell you this much. I had somebody come back in to work with us when this happened.

This guy was 35 years old. He was a competitive age group, competitive, uh, triathlete and I. He said when he came back, he goes, dude, I was in the wrong place. I knew I was in the wrong place as soon as I stepped in the door. And they gave him a handout of like a shuttle exercise, like a leg press exercise that they wanted him to do.

And the handout was a paper handout with a probably 75-year-old woman in the, the, the picture showing how to do a leg press. And this guy is like legit triathlete. And he. Was just like, alright, I'm never going back. And we reached out to him just to say, Hey, how's everything going? And he came right back in and one of the best long-term clients we've ever had.

I did his call and I was like, dang, I can't believe this guy, you know, didn't, didn't commit. And instead of being frustrated about it, I followed up with value. We followed up again to make sure he got what he, what he was looking for, and he did not get what he was looking for. And realized very quickly what we were saying because sometimes.

The consumer thinks you're saying this just 'cause you want them to come and work with you and it's a transactional, bi transactional business decision, right? Like, yeah, you wanna get the sale. Sure. But what they don't know is, listen guy, you are in the wrong place over here. They're not gonna know what to do with you and you're gonna be surrounded by people that are not similar to you in terms of your athletic goals.

The willingness you have to, you know, reinvest in your body and what you're looking for from, from a provider that can be that coach provider that you need to help you, not just get back to what you want to do, but also to perform at a high level for as long as you possibly can. And it took him seeing the wrong place for him.

To then realize that we were the right place for him and then we worked with him for years. He's probably still at our clinic. That can be one of the greatest things that can happen to you is if somebody goes and experiences the not so so great side of PT for people like that person, they're looking for something different.

So don't just let him go. Make sure you follow up. Make sure you follow up with value. Make sure you follow up to make sure that they're getting what they need. And it might be as simple as, yeah, found a great spot. Thanks so much for reaching out. Or may never you, you don't even hear from 'em. But a lot of these folks, you're gonna hear back from 'em.

They're gonna say, no, I don't think I'm in the right place. I would like to come back and schedule an evaluation. I appreciate you spending time with me. Little exercise you sent me, help my ankle or whatever. And uh, you know what? When can I get back in? That is where you can make a huge difference. This is gonna be a frustrating I.

Uh, you know, part of a conversation that trips people up, but there's multiple routes that you understand now that you can go. And don't forget fortune's in the follow up. Don't leave people, uh, you know, out there with no follow up. If they decide not to work with you, don't take it personally, right?

Follow up with value. Make sure you follow up, make sure they're getting what they need. That can be one of the greatest strategies you have for this frustrating question if they don't convert at the time of the first conversation they have with you. So hope this helps. Hope this helps you get more people in your office that you can truly help.

That's what it's all about. That's why we have clinics that are growing like a weed because we're really helping people in a unique way. And you just need to learn some basic sort of, you know, conversational sales if you wanna call it. Skills to be able to handle some of these challenging situations and put yourself in the best place that you can to help a lot of people and help your clinic in a into to get to a place where it can grow and it can actually scale past yourself to multiple providers.

So thanks so much for watching. Thanks so much for listening. And as always, we'll catch you in the next one.