As insurance companies steadily cut Out-of-Network benefits and reimbursement, many Cash-Based practices are really feeling the impact.

Patients who once received 40–50% back from self-claims suddenly get zero, and some respond with: "I just can't afford this anymore. I need to use my insurance."

It's frustrating. It feels out of your control. And yes—this trend is growing nationwide.

But here's the part most practices NEVER realize:

You can win back a lot of these patients—if your follow-up strategy is airtight.

That's what this episode breaks down.

Before you do though, a quick announcement: I'm hiring at my clinic and could really use your help … If you know of any skilled manual therapists in Austin (or who might want to move to Austin), who would love to be paid really well to treat every patient 1-on-1 for a full hour, PLEASE forward this opportunity to them. You can click HERE to see the job post and apply.

• Why insurance reimbursement is dropping for Out-of-Network claims

• How to re-engage patients who left due to insurance changes

• The exact follow-up script I use

• The #1 mistake clinics make that destroys retentionHow to automate patient tracking so no one slips through the cracks

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Freedom 2.0

Competition in the Cash-Based PT world is rising—fast.

If it feels like new Private-Pay practices are popping up every month in your area, you're not imagining it. Clinicians are leaving insurance jobs, jumping Out-of-Network, and launching Cash-Based practices at the fastest rate we've ever seen.

So here's an inconvenient truth:

Longer, One-on-one sessions are no longer a differentiator.

Every cash practice offers that now.

So in this episode, I walk a Mastermind member through how to stay confident, stay full, and stay ahead—without burning out or obsessing over competitors and the things they can't control or influence.

• The 3 things every practice MUST excel at to outcompete in 2026

• Why obsessing over new competitors only slows your growth

• The mindset shift that top owners use to stay motivated

• The #1 differentiator in a market full of long one-on-one sessions

• How to create a culture that patients never want to leave

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Mastermind

Every practice owner wants consistent, predictable revenue—and the best way to earn this are patients who keep coming back because you continue to transform their life, and they truly value what you provide.

That's exactly what continuity and maintenance memberships can create.

In this episode, I walk through the most effective strategies for getting more patients to say "yes" to your ongoing care memberships—without feeling salesy or pushy, or offering them anything that wouldn't be of significant value to them..

And since this episode releases right around Halloween, I'll start with a quick personal update. 🎃 Our twins, Adelaide and Gray, were a mummy and a pharaoh this year. They're seven and a half now—getting funnier, cuter, and more physically independent every year.

Many longtime listeners know they both have Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and their journey inspired much of the neuron regeneration research and philanthropy I'm now deeply involved in.

We're currently funding neural repair experiments through Dr. David Sinclair's lab at Harvard, exploring ways to reactivate healing in damaged neurons using cellular reprogramming techniques. The early cell reprogramming animal studies in his lab have been incredibly promising, showing up to 5x improvement in neuron repair.

If you'd like to stay updated—or support this mission—visit NeuronRegeneration.com or NeuronRegeneration.com/donate.

Alright… now let's talk about how to make your memberships as successful as possible.

• My point of view on the "We don't want lifelong patients" mindset The easiest, most natural ways to present memberships during care

• How to plant seeds early in the POC that lead to more "yeses"

• A free download of the exact emails and texts one of my Mastermind member used to generate $34K from memberships in a single campaign

For the full framework and to download those done-for-you templates, visit HERE.

USEFUL INFORMATION:

Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Mastermind

If you've ever wondered whether niching down could really accelerate your practice growth, this episode is your answer.

I sat down with longtime Mastermind member Danielle Vernon, founder of Scolio Austin, to talk about how she built a thriving Cash-Based practice around a single, underserved niche—and turned it into a referral-generating machine.

From starting out in her home clinic to building a 2,200-square-foot specialty practice, Danielle shares the exact steps, lessons, and mindset shifts that helped her go from burnout in traditional orthopedics to fulfillment and freedom in a Cash-Based niche.

• The real-world story of how niching transformed one PT's practice

• The simplest (and most overlooked) marketing tactic that filled her schedule

• How she turned physician referrals around—and got doctors inviting her to lunch

• Lessons learned from a decade of building a cash-based specialty practice

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Freedom 2.0

If you treat (or plan to treat) Medicare beneficiaries in a Cash-Based model, this week's short but crucial podcast episode is for you.

There's a lot of confusion about about the topic as a whole, and even more confusion when it comes to allowing or not allowing self-claims in the scenarios of:

• "Medicare as a secondary"

• Medicare as primary, but having a private insurance as a secondary"

• and "Medicare Advantage plans"

In this episode, I walk through real-world scenarios and answer the questions I get most often inside the Mastermind about how to safely handle self-claims and cash-pay situations in the above scenarios, as well as when a beneficiary has Medicare Part A only (not Part B).

• The key Medicare scenarios every cash-based PT should understand

• When self-claims are allowed (and when they absolutely aren't)

• A free Medicare and Cash-Pay PT Quick Start Guide to help you avoid costly compliance mistakes

For all the details on this topic, make sure to download the free Quick Start Guide HERE.

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Mastermind

Most social-media tactics come and go. The algorithm changes, trends fade, and what worked three months ago might be dead today.

That's why I rarely create public content about social-media marketing—because most of it isn't evergreen.

But in this episode, I share the one approach that always works to generate real patients, no matter the year, the platform, or the algorithm.

• The evergreen framework for turning social followers into real patients

• How to structure every short-form video so it actually produces leads

• A free downloadable checklist for executing the system step-by-step

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Freedom 2.0

…Patients who show up for the eval, and never come back.

They book once, and at the end of the first appointment: "I'll just see how I do with these exercises." Or "I need to watch my expenses, so I'm gonna try an in-network clinic."

Sound familiar?

In this episode, I coach a Mastermind member through this exact issue—and share the exact scripts I use to keep patients committed, from eval all the way to discharge.

• The common mistake that drives patients away after the eval

• Simple scripts to keep patients from "testing the waters" at home

• A free resource: three done-for-you scripts that turn hesitant prospects into fully committed patients

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Mastermind

Let's face it: insurance companies aren't just screwing over private practices… they are pulling the rug out from under our patients as well.

Once upon a time, they'd file a self-claim and get 40–50% back.

Now? Quite often it's Zero.

That means more and more patients—sometimes even loyal ones you've treated for years—are saying, "I can't afford this anymore. I'll try in-network."

Painful. But here's the truth: while you can't stop this trend completely, you can win back a surprising number of these patients—if you have the right follow-up systems in place.

• The hidden trap that causes patients to slip away for good

• The system my practice uses to follow up and win them back

• A free follow up spreadsheet + video training to plug into your own practice, and never let a winnable. Grab your free guide here.

• Lead/patient slip through the cracks again

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: CASH-BASED PRACTICE MARKETING INTENSIVE

Every practice owner faces this at some point: you've got a great clinician, but their patients are dropping off way too early. You've given them the scripts, the strategies, the playbook… and yet nothing changes.

It's frustrating—and it threatens both your revenue and your reputation.

Here's the truth: most practice owners assume their staff are primarily motivated by money or job security. But often, that's not the case. If you don't figure out what really drives each team member, you'll never unlock their full potential, get buy-in and compliance with your instructions —or reduce those costly drop-offs.

This week's episode will show you exactly how to do it.

• The hidden trap: why money isn't always the motivator

• The fix: tie desired behaviors to what your staff value most

• A free tool: The Motivator Index to uncover your team's real drivers. It is a one-page tool your team completes to rank what drives them. Use it in hiring and with current employees to tailor coaching, boost follow-through, and reduce patient drop-offs. It's the same tool I use in my practice, and it will change the way you lead. Grab your copy here.

1. Cash-Based Practice Freedom e-Course 2.0 A proven blueprint for landing cash-pay patients whenever you want. This course gives you every script, process, and resource I've used (and coached 1000+ practice owners through) to build highly profitable, insurance-free practices. Check out the Course here.

2. Cash-Based Practice MastermindIf you want to double your profit per patient and build the practice of your dreams, without relying on greedy insurance companies, this is your best opportunity. Weekly live coaching, an interactive community, and a members-only portal give you the accountability and clarity to reach your goals without wasting years. Check out the Mastermind here.

3. How to Answer "Do You Take My Insurance?"This one-hour masterclass shows you how to grow your practice through headache-free hiring and smart leadership. You'll learn how to attract and onboard stellar employees, manage them like a CEO, and quickly get their schedules filled—so you reduce drop-offs and keep your team motivated to perform at their best. Check out the Masterclass here.

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: Cash-Based Practice Mastermind

Most clinics don't fail because they're bad at treatment—they stall because their tools don't talk. EMR here. Scheduler there. Email somewhere else. A texting app. A CRM you meant to set up "one day."

In the gaps between them?

Patients and leads fall through.

This week's episode gives you a simple, durable way to fix it—without another fancy platform, without months of setup, and without you doing more.

• The hidden trap: Platform sprawl → missed follow-ups → lost revenue

• The fix: A single Google Sheet + one "quarterback" to run it

• How to scale it: SOPs your whole team can follow

• Your next step: Grab the free Sheet + video walkthrough that can completely transform your follow-up process—and the impact you have with your practice. The Lead Management and Patient Follow-up Tracking Sheet and Training is the same tool I use in my own clinic. It makes it easy to track follow-ups, set timely reminders, and stay top-of-mind with the people most likely to say yes down the road—so no one, and no revenue, slip through the cracks. Grab your copy here.

USEFUL INFORMATION: Check out our course: How to answer, "Do you take my insurance?"