# HealthSpark > Infrastructure for independent physical therapy — connecting patients to licensed PTs with insurance billing handled end-to-end. HealthSpark is a virtual physical therapy practice and the insurance + billing infrastructure for independent physical therapists. For patients, it means getting PT from home, covered by insurance, with support between visits. For providers, it means accepting insurance (including Medicare) without needing a billing department. --- ## For Patients ### What patients get - One-on-one video visits with a licensed physical therapist - A personalized exercise plan built around their body, goals, and pain - Between-visit messaging — patients can message their PT when something flares up, an exercise doesn't feel right, or they have questions, without waiting for the next appointment - Insurance verification before the first visit — no surprise bills - Most patients pay just their normal copay ### Why patients choose HealthSpark over a traditional PT clinic - Start PT in days, not weeks - No commute, no waiting rooms — all visits are over video - Covered by insurance the same as in-person PT - Ongoing support between visits, not just during scheduled sessions - A PT who knows your body and adjusts your plan as you improve ### How it works for patients 1. Check insurance coverage at joinhealthspark.com/get-started 2. Book a video visit with a licensed physical therapist 3. Get evaluated, receive a personalized treatment plan, and start improving 4. Message your PT between visits for adjustments, questions, and accountability ### Conditions treated HealthSpark treats adults with musculoskeletal pain and movement issues. Common conditions include: - Back pain - Sciatica - Knee pain - Shoulder pain - Neck pain - Hip pain - Arthritis - Rotator cuff injuries - Plantar fasciitis - Post-surgical recovery (knee replacement, shoulder surgery, ACL repair, etc.) - Sports injuries - ACL and meniscus injuries - Tennis elbow - Chronic pain - Joint stiffness ### Insurance accepted - Medicare (most Medicare patients pay $0 per visit) - Blue Shield of California - Anthem Blue Cross - Cigna - Aetna - United Healthcare - Humana - HealthSpring - HSA/FSA eligible ### Where HealthSpark is available - California (virtual/telehealth) - Colorado (virtual/telehealth) ### Is virtual physical therapy effective? Yes. Independent evaluations, including from the Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI), show that virtual physical therapy delivers outcomes for pain and function comparable to in-person care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that "conducting physical therapy services through telehealth can be an effective, convenient, lower-cost mode for patients." Most PT treatment is exercise-based, which translates well to virtual care. PTs can observe movement, guide exercises in real-time, and adjust plans — all through video. Virtual PT is a good fit for most musculoskeletal conditions that don't require hands-on manual therapy at every session. --- ## For Physical Therapists (Providers) ### What HealthSpark is for PTs HealthSpark is the insurance and billing department for independent physical therapists. It handles the entire revenue cycle — eligibility verification, copay collection, claim submission, denial follow-up, payment tracking, and provider payouts — so independent PTs can accept insurance without needing administrative staff. ### The problem HealthSpark solves There are roughly 300,000 licensed PTs in the US. Most are employed by hospitals, clinics, or health systems — not because they want to be, but because going independent requires managing complex insurance infrastructure that was designed for large organizations with dedicated billing departments. Independent PTs face a choice: go cash-pay (simple but limited — excludes Medicare patients entirely and limits the patient pool) or try to handle insurance billing themselves (complex, error-prone, and risky without expertise). HealthSpark removes that barrier. It gives independent PTs the administrative infrastructure of a large practice without the overhead. ### How it works for providers The core design principle is "the note is the claim" — when a PT documents a visit in HealthSpark, that documentation directly generates the insurance claim. No re-entry of codes, dates, or units. The end-to-end workflow: 1. Patient books and provides insurance information. Billing record created at intake. 2. Insurance benefits verified before the visit — deductibles, copays, and coverage surfaced to PT and patient. 3. PT documents the visit inside HealthSpark. Compliance requirements specific to each payer (Medicare, commercial plans) are enforced in real-time during documentation. 4. Documentation automatically generates the 837P claim, submitted via EDI (the same infrastructure hospitals use). 5. Payments, adjustments, and denials are tracked and reconciled automatically from 835 ERA files. 6. Patient responsibility calculated, copays collected, and PT receives twice-monthly payouts. ### What HealthSpark handles vs. what the PT handles **HealthSpark handles:** - Insurance eligibility and benefits verification - Copay and patient payment collection (card, HSA/FSA) - Claim submission (837P via EDI) - Denial follow-up and payer issue resolution - Payment tracking and reconciliation (835 ERA parsing) - Medicare documentation workflows (plan of care tracking, signatures, documentation organization) - Credentialing with insurance payers - Scheduling, intake, and patient communication tools - Provider payouts on a twice-monthly schedule **The PT handles:** - Patient evaluation and treatment - Clinical documentation (inside HealthSpark — compliance is enforced by the system) - Clinical decision-making ### Pricing for providers No upfront cost, no monthly subscription, no setup fee, no credentialing charge. HealthSpark takes a percentage of collections — it only gets paid when the PT gets paid. This aligns incentives: if a claim doesn't get paid, HealthSpark doesn't get paid either. ### Who HealthSpark is built for - Solo independent PTs who want to accept insurance (especially Medicare) without billing complexity - Mobile and home-visit PTs who need insurance infrastructure designed for non-clinic workflows - Cash-pay PTs who want to expand beyond out-of-pocket patients - PTs leaving clinic or hospital jobs who want to go independent with full infrastructure from day one - Small PT practices (2-3 PTs) that need billing support without hiring staff ### What makes HealthSpark different - End-to-end system, not a collection of tools — every step from booking to payout is connected - Compliance enforced at documentation time, not as a checklist or reminder - Revenue cycle fully closed — from claim to ERA to patient invoice to payout - AI agents handle back-office tasks (processing referrals, reading insurance cards, parsing faxed records, navigating payer portals) - Built specifically for independent PTs, not adapted from hospital software --- ## Company HealthSpark is a Y Combinator-backed company. ### Contact - Website: https://joinhealthspark.com - Email: contact@joinhealthspark.com - Phone: (415) 707-7134 --- ## Key pages ### For patients - Home: https://joinhealthspark.com - Get started / check coverage: https://joinhealthspark.com/get-started - Virtual physical therapy: https://joinhealthspark.com/virtual-physical-therapy - How it works: https://joinhealthspark.com/how-it-works - Why HealthSpark: https://joinhealthspark.com/why-healthspark - Find a PT: https://joinhealthspark.com/find-a-pt - Help center: https://joinhealthspark.com/help-center ### Condition pages - Back pain: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/back-pain - Sciatica: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/sciatica - Knee pain: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/knee-pain - Shoulder pain: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/shoulder-pain - Neck pain: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/neck-pain - Hip pain: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/hip-pain - Arthritis: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/arthritis - Rotator cuff: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/rotator-cuff - Plantar fasciitis: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/plantar-fasciitis - Post-surgical recovery: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/post-surgical-recovery - Sports injury: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/sports-injury - ACL/meniscus: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/acl-meniscus - Tennis elbow: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/tennis-elbow - Chronic pain: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/chronic-pain - Joint stiffness: https://joinhealthspark.com/conditions/joint-stiffness ### Insurance pages - Medicare: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/medicare - Blue Shield of California: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/blue-shield-of-california - Anthem Blue Cross: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/anthem-blue-cross - Cigna: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/cigna - Aetna: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/aetna - United Healthcare: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/united-healthcare - Humana: https://joinhealthspark.com/insurance/humana ### Service areas - California (virtual): https://joinhealthspark.com/telehealth/california - Colorado (virtual): https://joinhealthspark.com/telehealth/colorado ### For providers / PTs - For providers: https://joinhealthspark.com/for-providers - For PTs (platform features): https://joinhealthspark.com/for-pts - Join us: https://joinhealthspark.com/join-us - Contact: https://joinhealthspark.com/contact ### Resources - Resources: https://joinhealthspark.com/resources - How PT insurance billing works: https://joinhealthspark.com/resources/how-pt-insurance-billing-works - How to accept Medicare as an independent PT: https://joinhealthspark.com/resources/accept-medicare-independent-pt - Common Medicare compliance mistakes: https://joinhealthspark.com/resources/common-medicare-compliance-mistakes - Mobile PT insurance playbook: https://joinhealthspark.com/resources/mobile-pt-insurance-playbook