Price increase letter to physiotherapy patients
Copy it, replace the bracketed bits, send it. Below the letter: the text-message version, how much notice to give, and what to say when they push back.
Dear [NAME], We are writing to let you know about a change to our self-pay fees from [DATE]. Initial assessment: [OLD] → [NEW] Follow-up session: [OLD] → [NEW] If you are currently part-way through a course of treatment, you will finish it at your current fee. The new fees apply only to new courses of treatment started from [DATE]. If you are claiming through [INSURER / THIRD-PARTY FUNDER], nothing changes for you — we will continue to bill them directly. If your policy has a fixed benefit per session, it is worth checking whether the new fee creates a shortfall; our reception team can help you work it out. We last reviewed our fees in [YEAR]. Since then, rent, clinical software, insurance and required professional training have all gone up. Your physiotherapist, appointment times and treatment plan are unaffected. With best wishes, [CLINICIAN NAME] [CLINIC NAME]
How many customers can this price rise lose?
10% ÷ (40% + 10%) = 20%
Open the full calculator, with your prices and customer count →30 days; patients part-way through a course of treatment finish it at the old fee
5–10% on self-pay fees
The text-message version
For the customers whose entire relationship with you lives in a phone. Send it before the visit, never on the invoice.
[CLINIC NAME]: our self-pay fees change on [DATE]. If you're mid-way through treatment, you'll finish at your current fee. Details were emailed, or ask at reception.
Why it is going up, in words you can use
“Rising costs” persuades nobody because everyone says it. Name the actual driver in physiotherapy instead:
- insurer-set rates have barely moved in years, so self-pay fees carry the clinic's rising costs
- clinic rent, treatment equipment and clinical software
- professional registration, indemnity insurance and required continuing professional development
- admin time spent on insurer authorisations and reports, which nobody pays for
When they push back
You will hear these within a week. Having the answer ready is the difference between holding the price and folding on the phone.
- "My insurer only covers [AMOUNT] a session."
- Be clear and practical: the shortfall is theirs, but you can reduce how often it bites. "We can space your sessions out and give you more to do at home between them." Patients value a clinician who helps them get well on fewer visits.
- "Can I have fewer sessions?"
- Often yes — clinically, many patients are over-booked anyway. Build a structured home programme and review at longer intervals. A patient who gets better on four sessions sends you more referrals than one who resented eight.
- "The hospital physio is free."
- Where that is true, say so without defensiveness: "It is, and the waiting list is currently about [N] weeks. If you are happy to wait, it is a good option." Honesty here builds trust, and the wait usually makes the case for you.
Is a price rise even the right move for you?
Sometimes it is not. Sometimes the money is in a service plan for customers you already have, or in the job you are quoting below cost without realising. Describe your business in one sentence and you will get three specific moves back — priced per month, with the arithmetic written out so you can put your own numbers in.
Free, no signup, about thirty seconds. If one of them is a price rise, you will get the number to put in the brackets above.
Give me three movesMore letters: health, fitness and wellness
Other trades
A template, not legal advice. If you have a written contract with these patients, check what it says about notice periods and price changes before you send anything — the contract wins over any template, including this one.