SBA 7(a) Physical Therapy Clinic Feasibility Study in Massachusetts

The smallest loans in the page set

Physical therapy clinics financed through SBA 7(a) in Massachusetts borrow very little: the median is $66,750, only 0.48x what therapy clinics typically borrow across the country, and most loans fall between $40,000 and $150,000. The state logged 84 loans worth $12.1 million, is 10th among states on count, and the class holds 13 of 39 in Massachusetts. Franchise ties account for 2.4% of loans, a sign of independent practices.

Cancellation after approval had a floor of 10.3% for loans approved through FY2024, or 12.1% if undisbursed loans are counted. The funded early cohort has 31 loans, barely above the 30-loan minimum we apply before printing a rate, and no charge-off appears in it, whether measured to date or at five years. A figure that rests on 31 loans can change with a single default, and nothing in it speaks for loans funded later.

Lenders and counties

Eastern Bank holds 17 loans worth $1.9 million. Next come TD Bank, National Association with 9 loans ($464,000) and Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company with 6 ($923,000), then Bristol County Savings Bank with 6 ($385,000) and Newtek Bank, National Association with 5 ($850,000). These are holdings as SBA files them; they say nothing about a bank's own criteria. Middlesex County has 26 loans, Essex 15, Plymouth 10, Bristol and Worcester 8 each, Norfolk 7 and Suffolk 6.

Approvals fell to 3 in FY2021, rose to 9 in FY2022 with $2.7 million, and peaked at 17 in FY2025 with $2.4 million, followed by 9 in FY2026.

What a Massachusetts clinic study must test

With loans this small, a clinic here is usually a few treatment rooms and a handful of staff, so the study should be specific about people: the therapists who will see patients, the visits each can deliver in a week, and the referral sources, such as orthopedic practices, primary care and employers, that will fill the schedule. Reimbursement is the central uncertainty, since the amount collected per visit depends on payer contracts and the delay before payment arrives has to be financed. The budget should itemise leasehold work, treatment equipment, billing software and the first months of payroll. Show how many weekly visits cover rent, wages and the loan payment, and what happens if a key therapist leaves. A practice purchase needs a test of whether patients and referral sources stay.