Doctor visits and therapy CPT 97161 Outpatient

PT evaluation, low complexity cost in Waterbury, CT

In Waterbury, CT, 2 hospitals list a cash price for physical therapy evaluation, low complexity (typically about 20 minutes): from $230.45 to $310.02, with a median of $270.24. The lowest listed price is at Saint Marys Hospital — $39.79 less than the median here. Across Connecticut, the median is $408.10 at 15 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities 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 Mar 31, 2026 and May 13, 2026.

Lowest$230.45Saint Marys Hospital
Median$270.24half pay less
Highest$310.02in this market
Difference1.3×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Waterbury, CT.

median
Lowest $230.45Highest $310.02

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Saint Marys Hospital lowest Waterbury, CT · (203) 709-6020 HC Pt Evaluation Low Complexity Patient/Family $230.45 $419.00 $91.82–$419.00 45% Mar 31, 2026
source file
UConn Health, Waterbury Hospital Waterbury, CT · (203) 573-6000 PT Evaluation Units Low Complexity $310.02 $620.03 $201.00–$400.42 50% May 13, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $230.45, median $270.24, highest $310.02 — a 1.3× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $270.24. 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 2 of 2 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.