Rehabilitative Therapy Practices
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 29,100 rehabilitative therapy practices in the US provide services to help patients restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent disabilities. Rehabilitative therapy includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and audiology. Practices may also provide therapy through art, music, dance, exercise and recreation.
Dependence On Referrals
While most states allow patients to have direct access to therapy services, many managed care and Medicare plans require patients to obtain a referral from a physician.
Demand Projected To Grow
The aging US population, earlier hospital discharges, and improved infant survival are projected to drive increased demand for rehabilitative therapy.
Industry size & Structure
A typical rehabilitative therapy practice operates out of a single location, employs 14 workers, and generates $1.3 million annually.
- The rehabilitative therapy industry consists of 29,100 companies, employs about 448,700 workers, and generates about $37 billion annually.
- Most rehabilitative therapy practices are small, independent operations; 67% have a single location and 89% employ fewer than 20 workers.
- Large companies include Select Physical Therapy, US Physical Therapy, and Concentra.
Industry Forecast
Rehabilitative Therapy Practices Industry Growth

Recent Developments
May 6, 2023 - President Biden Ends Covid-19 National Emergency
- President Biden signed in April a congressional resolution to bring the US national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency. The resolution ends several waivers for federal health programs Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Ending the national emergency early could also terminate some of flexibility for the Continuation of Health Coverage program. The Biden administration had set a May 11 deadline for both the national emergency and the public health emergency, giving states the go-ahead to begin winding down the measures enacted under them.
- The COVID-19 national emergency that the US congressional resolution ended provided blanket waivers for federal program conditions including certain requirements for Medicare provider enrollment; requirements for in-person meetings between providers and patients; as well as requiring out-of-state Medicare and Medicaid providers to be licensed in the state where they are providing services. States and territories were also allowed to request additional, time-limited, flexibilities for their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance programs. Providers were given the flexibility to administer services in “alternative settings” like unlicensed facilities and temporarily enrolled providers were allowed to forgo requirements like paying application fees or undergoing criminal background checks.
- People experiencing long COVID share similarities with people diagnosed and recovering from a concussion, according to findings from a recent University of Denver study. Rehabilitative therapy practices may benefit if concussion treatment plans are approved for long COVID patients. Researchers conducting a series of rapid-reading, balance and spatial-reasoning tests noticed that people with long COVID showed a significant difference in eye-tracking movements and balance — mirroring those who had suffered a concussion. Both conditions inflame the brain, so the research suggests that physicians can begin using concussion assessment tools to evaluate the severity of the lingering virus, head researcher Brad Davidson said. The same is likely true for treatment tools, he added.
- The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has renewed the Public Health Emergency (PHE) declaration for COVID 19 for another 90 days. The current declaration begins on January 11 (the date the PHE was previously scheduled to expire) and extends through April 11. The emergency measure linked to the PHE that may be of most interest to rehabilitative therapy practices is coverage of telehealth services. Medicare and Medicaid coverage of telehealth services was extended immediately. PHE renewals keep in place flexibilities under Section 1135 waivers, such as the expanded use of telehealth. They also extend public aid programs. HHS will provide states with 60 days notice prior to the termination of the PHE. Prior PHE renewals gave HHS the discretion to terminate the PHE at any time. Waiver of cost-sharing for medical and behavioral telehealth services by health insurers is likely to be extended again by insurers.
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