PT evaluation, low complexity cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 4 hospitals list a cash price for physical therapy evaluation, low complexity (typically about 20 minutes): from $69.56 to $254.34, with a median of $103.08. The lowest listed price is at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital and 1 other hospital — $33.52 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $80.74 at 34 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 97161, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 1, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital lowest Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 BD PT EVAL LOW COMPLEXITY | $69.56 | $231.85 | $66.74–$206.82 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital lowest Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 BD PT EVAL LOW COMPLEXITY | $69.56 | $231.85 | $66.74–$206.82 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital lowest Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 PT EVALUATION LOW COMPLEXITY | $69.56 | $231.85 | $66.74–$206.82 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital lowest Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 PT EVALUATION LOW COMPLEXITY | $69.56 | $231.85 | $66.74–$206.82 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital lowest Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 CL PT EVAL LOW COMPLEXITY | $69.56 | $231.85 | $66.74–$206.82 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital lowest Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 CL PT EVAL LOW COMPLEXITY | $69.56 | $231.85 | $66.74–$206.82 | 70% | — source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC PT EVAL LOW COMPLEX 20 MIN | $136.59 | $471.00 | $92.54–$376.80 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 PHYSICAL THERAPY EVALUATION LOW COMPLEX 20 MINS | $136.59 | $471.00 | $53.58–$471.00 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 PHYSICAL THERAPY EVALUATION LOW COMPLEX 20 MINS | $254.34 | $471.00 | $53.58–$471.00 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 HC PT EVAL LOW COMPLEX 20 MIN | $254.34 | $471.00 | $92.54–$376.80 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $69.56, median $103.08, highest $254.34 — a 3.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $103.08. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 4 of 4 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
This is a first physical therapy evaluation of low complexity, typically about 20 minutes face to face. It is used for a stable problem with few other health factors, and ends with a plan of care.
What the price covers
The price covers the evaluation, billed once per evaluation rather than in time units. Treatment on the same day, such as therapeutic exercise or manual therapy, is billed separately in 15-minute units.