Shockwave Therapy Cost and Memberships

There are two parts to shockwave care at our Addison clinic, and they are paid for differently:

Ask our team for current self-pay pricing before you start. We would rather you know the full cost up front than be surprised later.

Most insurance plans do not cover shockwave therapy for tendon and soft-tissue pain. Insurers publish medical policies that explain what they will and will not pay for, and shockwave is a common exclusion.

For example, UnitedHealthcare's commercial medical policy (effective October 1, 2026) states that shockwave therapy, whether low energy, high energy or radial, is unproven and not medically necessary for any musculoskeletal or soft-tissue indication because of insufficient evidence of efficacy. Aetna's policy lists many musculoskeletal uses as experimental, investigational or unproven, including tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, Achilles and patellar tendinopathy, and rotator cuff tendonitis. Aetna's separate plantar fasciitis policy puts shockwave for heel pain in the same category.

Aetna does describe one narrow situation it considers medically necessary: calcific tendinopathy of the shoulder that has lasted at least 6 months, with a calcium deposit of 1 cm or larger, after appropriate conservative care has not helped. Policies change and every plan is different, so if you have a question about your own coverage, call your insurer or ask our team.

A coverage decision is a statement about what an insurer will pay for. It is not a judgment about you or your pain. To understand what research does and does not show, see what focused shockwave is.

Before anyone starts sessions, you meet with Charles Ortega, PA-C or Rowena Calleja, PT. They review your history, examine the painful area and decide whether shockwave makes sense for you or whether something else should come first. Your office visit may be billable to insurance; the shockwave sessions are self-pay.

We accept 200+ insurance plans, including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Medicare and UnitedHealthcare, and our team can check your benefits for the office visit before you come in. If your provider recommends physical therapy, that is billed to insurance in the usual way. See what the first visit covers.

Focused shockwave is part of our Wellness Memberships. Each tier gives you a set number of credits every month, and one focused shockwave session uses 5 credits. Memberships are billed monthly, with no enrollment fee. Here is how many shockwave sessions each tier's monthly credits cover:

Leftover credits can go toward Tier 1 therapies such as red light or PEMF, which use 1 credit per session. Your provider sets how many shockwave sessions you have and how far apart they are, so the right tier depends on your plan, not on using every credit. Our staff track your credit balance for you; there is no online balance, so just ask at any visit or call.

Every new member gets a complimentary 20-minute visit with Charles Ortega, PA-C or Rowena Calleja, PT before starting. The purpose is to confirm that the therapies you are interested in are safe and appropriate for you. The provider sets the plan, and trained medical staff perform the sessions.

If you are joining mainly for shockwave, tell us when you book so the visit can focus on the area that hurts.

HSA and FSA rules depend on your plan. Ask your plan administrator whether shockwave qualifies before you use those funds.

Payment plans through Cherry are available for eligible self-pay care, so you can spread the cost into monthly payments. Ask which services qualify, and see payment plans for how applying works.

A few questions help you plan the total cost:

Call (214) 233-3094, book online or send us a request and we will go through it with you.