Old accounts receivable does not clear itself.
Doctor, aged claims do not fail loudly. They sit in a bucket that gets bigger every month, and because nothing about them is urgent today, they are still there when the filing window closes.
Turn aging balances into a working queue
An aging report shows where money is sitting. Recovery requires a plan for each account: verify the status, understand the balance, contact the appropriate party and document the next step.
Segment the balance
Work the account
Record the resolution
The oldest claims are the hardest ones
A claim reaches 120 days because something about it was difficult. Left in the same queue as routine work, it stays at the bottom permanently.
The average hides the tail
A healthy average days in A/R can sit on top of a long tail of very old claims. The number looks fine right up until you look at the buckets separately.
Nobody has decided what is uncollectable
Some of that balance will never be paid, and holding it on the report makes the number look better while costing staff time chasing it. Nobody wants to be the one to write it off.
Oldest and highest value first, with a written plan
Here is what the work looks like, from the first review to the next action.
A defined task.
A documented action.
A visible next step.
Age the whole book before touching it
A full aging analysis by payer and bucket comes first, so the work is directed by where the money is rather than by whatever surfaces.
Separate collectable from not
Claims past filing, past appeal and past reasonable effort are identified early. Working a dead claim costs you the same as working a live one.
Work oldest and largest first
Within the collectable balance, the claims closest to a deadline and the claims worth the most are worked ahead of the easy ones.
Document every payer contact
Reference numbers, dates and who said what. That record is what makes the second call to a payer shorter than the first, and it is what an appeal rests on.
Recommend the write offs in writing
Whatever is genuinely uncollectable comes back to you as a recommendation with the reasoning, so the decision is yours and your report finally tells the truth.
Included in A/R recovery
Agree the scope with your practice, then keep the day-to-day work organized around it.
- Full aging analysis before any work starts
- Collectable and uncollectable separated
- Oldest and highest value claims first
- Payer follow up with documented contacts
- Appeals where the claim is still winnable
- Secondary and patient balance follow up
- Write off recommendations with reasoning
- Progress reporting by aging bucket
An old balance needs more than another reminder
Age, balance, payer status and filing limits all influence priority. We distinguish a claim awaiting a decision from an underpayment, a correction or a balance that needs more information.
What changes when aged A/R is its own queue
Old claims do not need more effort. They need a queue where they are not competing with today’s work.
| Situation | In the main queue | Worked as its own project |
|---|---|---|
| A 120 day claim | Below every newer claim | At the top, because it is closest to dead |
| A payer needs three calls | Abandoned after the first | Followed up with the previous reference |
| A claim is uncollectable | Chased anyway, or ignored | Identified and recommended for write off |
| Aging is reported | One average | By bucket, so the tail is visible |
| A deadline is near | Nothing flags it | Worked ahead of everything else |
A few things to know before we start
The right scope starts with a clear conversation.
Ask it directly. You will get an answer from somebody who works accounts, not a sales script.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Central TimeHow old is too old?
It depends entirely on the payer and the claim type, and we will tell you which of your aged claims are still inside their window before we start rather than bill you for chasing dead ones.
Can you work our A/R without doing our billing?
Yes. Aged A/R recovery is commonly taken as a standalone project, including for practices that are happy with their current biller.
What do you charge on recovered A/R?
It is a percentage of what is actually recovered, starting from 3.49%. Nothing is charged on a balance that does not come in.
Will you write off our balances?
No. We recommend, with the reasoning. The decision to write off is yours and it should stay yours.
Most practices do not buy one service in isolation. These are the ones that change the same numbers.
Find out what is still recoverable
Tell us your specialty and the billing issue you want reviewed. We will agree the scope and arrange a secure way to share any records needed.