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 |  | With Health Insurance: Copays + 10%-50% Coinsurance |  | Without Health Insurance: $50-$400 Per Hour |
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Occupational therapy typically involves working with a patient and tailoring the environment to help patients with physical, mental or emotional disabilities to perform daily tasks at home or work. Occupational therapy can be used for patients with a wide range of conditions and problems, including serious injury, learning or developmental disabilities, recovery from strokes and heart attacks, surgery, cancer, mental health issues and arthritis.
Typical costs: |
- Occupational therapy typically is covered by health insurance in certain cases. For example, Aetna[1] considers short-term occupational therapy medically necessary to help regain daily living functions lost as a result of an injury or illness, but typically does not cover it when the primary diagnosis is mental retardation or developmental delay. Some policies limit the total number of sessions. For patients covered by health insurance, typical out-of-pocket costs consist of coinsurance of 10%-50% and copays for any required medical devices.
- For patients not covered by health insurance, occupational therapy typically costs about $150-$200 for an initial evaluation, then $50-$400 per hour, depending on the type of service and the provider; costs tend to be on the higher end through a hospital. For example, One on One, a provider in Texas who does not bill insurance directly, charges $50 an hour, with a 25-cent per-mile surcharge for trips of more than 12 miles. Garden City Hospital[2] in Michigan charges $100 per session. ECS Therapy[3] in Pennsylvania charges $200 for an initial evaluation, then $65 for a half-hour session -- or $130 an hour. Akron General Hospital[4] in Ohio charges $170 for an initial evaluation, then $50-$100 per 15 minutes -- or $200-$400 per hour -- depending on the type of therapy performed.
Related articles: Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Health Insurance
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What should be included: |
- The occupational therapist typically will meet with a patient for an initial assessment and to formulate a therapy plan. Therapy sessions typically are tailored to the individual case and can include work on skills ranging from getting dressed to driving, exercises to improve strength and flexibility, recommendations on adjustments to home and work environments to accommodate the individual, and help learning to use any necessary assistive or medical devices.
- WebMD has an overview of occupational therapy[5] .
Additional costs: |
- Assistive devices[6] might be recommended. For example, Rehabmart.com charges $10-$150 or more for kitchen tools[7] such as jar openers, bag sealers and one-handed vegetable peelers; less than $20-$70 or more for talking watches[8] ; $30-$250 or more for low-vision phones[9] , voice-activated phone dialers and answering machines; less than $15-$200 or more for hand, finger or arm splints[10] ; $20-$200 for reachers[11] to help pick up and grasp objects; and $50-$500 or more for a bathing benches[12] .
Discounts: |
- Some clinics offer occupational therapy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a locator for clinics[13] that provide discounts on an income-based sliding scale.
Shopping for occupational therapy: |
- A primary care physician or specialist can provide a referral to an occupational therapist.
- Occupational therapy is regulated at a state level. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy provides a state-by-state list[14] of regulatory bodies that oversee occupational therapy. It is important to make sure an occupational therapist is credentialed by the proper state regulatory agency. At a minimum, an occupational therapist should have a master's degree from a school accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education[15] . In addition, occupational therapists can choose to become certified, and consumers can contact the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy[16] to verify certification.
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Material on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Always consult your physician or pharmacist regarding medications or medical procedures.
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What People Are Paying - Recent Comments |
| Posted by: B Family in Homer, AK. | Posted: July 11th, 2023 12:07PM |
| Number of Sessions: 1 | Required Medical Devices: |
SO far we paid 486 for a one hour evaluation after a strong recommendation from our psychiatrist to pursue occupational therapy. We do not have insurance that covers this. My 13 YO has OCD that is debilitating him (can't get dressed, eat, etc without support). They recommend 2x per week at $586 per session(cash discount allows us to pay 464 per session). That is a $1000 PER WEEK and $500 an hour! Who can get help at that rate? I feel abused and lost. After reading these comments I am afraid we are heading to another provider who will give us busy work, take our money and time, but not show any positive results. |
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| Posted by: Momsomad in Bloomington, IN. | Posted: March 23rd, 2021 12:03PM |
| Number of Sessions: 1426 | Required Medical Devices: nope |
After finding out my son has high-functioning autism, we were recommended to go to see an Occupational Therapist for an evaluation. We had 4 visits in total (were recommended to go weekly and are so thankful we had to cancel most visits), with the eval being 60 minutes long and the other 3 visits were 40 minutes each. Our total charges for the services before insurance was over $1400. That's over $8 per minute on average! I was present for 2 visits; the evaulation just consisted of going over my son's medical history and discussing with a doctor present what things bothered him. The other 3 visits, the OT would work with him by having him take a paper and pencil writing test or see his typing speed. My eyeballs popped out when I got my bill. I will never use the hospital in my area with the monopoly on healthcare for OT services again. I will seek a private practice! Needless to say, all we walked away with was knowing he should work on home row keying at home. Unbelieveable! |
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| Posted by: MOMof Spectrum son in richmond, VA. | Posted: May 27th, 2016 06:05AM |
| Number of Sessions: 1 | Required Medical Devices: 0 |
So crazy what does he get for 364 hour??? Way too much!!!!
so not fair!!! He is mildly autistic and does not require any special equipment. his therapist are about 22 years old, I am 40 with a PHD in mental health and I don't even make 10% of that! thats whats wrong with health care in this country!!!!!! |
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External Resources: |
- www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0250.html
- www.gch.org/Home.aspx?id=219&sid=1
- www.ecstherapy.com/fee-schedule.html
- www.akrongeneral.org/portal/page/portal/AGMC_PAGEGROUP/Price_guide/PRICE_GUIDE3a
- www.webmd.com/pain-management/tc/occupational-therapy-overview
- www.rehabmart.com/all-categories.asp
- www.rehabmart.com/category/Kitchen_Gadgets.htm
- www.rehabmart.com/category/Ladies_Talking_Watches.htm
- www.rehabmart.com/category/Low_Vision_Telephones.htm
- www.rehabmart.com/category/Hand_and_Finger_Splints.htm
- www.rehabmart.com/category/Reachers.htm
- www.rehabmart.com/category/Bath_Bench.htm
- findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC.aspx
- www.nbcot.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=111
- www.aota.org/Educate/Schools.aspx
- www.nbcot.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=51
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