Service

Aged A/R recovery

Old receivables aren't dead. They're time-sensitive. We work them by deadline and collectability, starting with what's still winnable.

Get a free A/R analysis Book a 15-minute call

The problem this fixes

Every practice carries a bucket of claims nobody is working — left behind by a departing biller, a system migration, or a previous billing company that focused on new claims because those are easier. That balance sits there ageing until it's written off.

The maths is unforgiving. A claim under 30 days old has a collection probability above 95%. Past 90 days it drops to 50–60%. Past 120 days it falls below 30%. Every week of inaction costs real money.

The other reason old A/R stays old is that it is genuinely harder work. New claims are clean, predictable and quick. An aged claim needs its history reconstructed, its remaining rights checked, and a payer call that may take forty minutes. Anyone measured on volume will always choose the new claim, which is precisely why the old pile never moves without someone assigned to it.

What goes wrong when this is done badly

Four failure modes we see repeatedly, and each one is a process problem rather than an effort problem.

Working oldest first

The oldest balance looks worst and is often already unrecoverable. A large claim at 85 days with a 90-day filing deadline is far more urgent than a small one at 200 days with no appeal rights left.

Undocumented payer calls

A follow-up call with no reference number recorded is a call you will have to make again. The second conversation is dramatically more productive when you can quote what you were told the first time.

Silent write-offs

A balance removed with no stated reason hides whatever went wrong upstream. Every write-off recommendation should carry a cause, because the causes repeat.

Treating legacy A/R as a project with no end

Aged A/R needs a disposition report: collected, appealed, or written off with a reason. A queue that never resolves is not being worked, it is being stored.

What's included

Every item below is a deliverable, not a capability statement.

Full A/R inventory and ageing analysis

By bucket, payer, and provider.

Triage by filing deadline and collection probability

So the winnable money is worked first.

Systematic payer follow-up

With documented contact history and reference numbers.

Appeals on anything still inside the window

Checked against each payer’s appeal deadline.

Legacy system A/R cleanup

After an EHR or practice management migration.

Credit balance review and refund processing

Including payer and patient refunds.

Small-balance and write-off recommendations

With a stated rationale for each.

Patient balance recovery

Before any collections referral.

How it works

1 Inventory We pull the full A/R and age it by bucket, payer, and provider.
2 Triage Every account is scored on deadline proximity and collection probability.
3 Work order Highest-value, closest-to-deadline accounts first.
4 Documented follow-up Every payer contact logged with reference numbers.
5 Disposition report What was collected, what was appealed, what should be written off and why.

Collection probability by ageing bucket

Ageing bucket	Typical collection probability	What we do
0–30 days	Above 95%	Standard follow-up cadence
31–60 days	85–90%	Payer contact and status verification
61–90 days	70–80%	Escalation and corrected claims
91–120 days	50–60%	Appeals where the window is still open
Over 120 days	Below 30%	Deadline check first, then triage by value

Industry benchmark ranges, cited to MGMA and HFMA where published as claims. Your own numbers are measured in the free A/R analysis.

What you get back

A full ageing analysis by bucket, payer and provider
A worked account log with payer reference numbers
A disposition report stating what is collectable and what is not
Write-off recommendations you can act on with a reason attached

Who this is for

Practices after a billing company transition
Practices after an EHR or PM system migration
Practices whose biller left with work in progress
Any practice with more than 20% of A/R past 90 days

What we measure

The numbers this service actually moves. You see all of them weekly, in your own system, with the benchmark alongside.

Recovered against recoverable Not recovered against total A/R. Some of the balance was never collectable, and measuring against the whole pile flatters the result. We state what was genuinely winnable and what we got.
Accounts worked per ageing bucket How much of each bucket has actually been touched, with a payer contact reference against it. Unworked is different from uncollectable, and only one of them is a decision.
Deadline exposure The value of claims whose filing or appeal window closes in the next 30 days. It is the single most actionable number in an aged A/R engagement.
Write-off recommendations with reasons What we believe should be written off and why, itemised. A write-off queue with no stated reason is a process failure hiding as a number.

Benchmark ranges are sourced from MGMA and HFMA MAP Keys. MedBil's own figures are published only with a stated measurement window, per specification section 12.7.

Where this matters most

The specialties where this part of the cycle carries the most risk and the most recoverable revenue.

Gastroenterology Screening vs. diagnostic colonoscopy, modifier 33/PT, auth Dermatology Lesion coding by size and site, cosmetic vs. medical, pathology Physical Therapy Timed vs. untimed units, the 8-minute rule, therapy caps, plan of care Urgent Care High volume, S-codes, place of service, self-pay mix OB/GYN Global obstetric package, antepartum/postpartum splits, ultrasound Wound Care Debridement by depth, skin substitutes, HBOT, documentation of measurements

Proof

Start with your own numbers

We measure your denial rate, A/R ageing and net collection rate against industry benchmarks before you commit to anything. You keep the analysis either way.

90 days of claims data, no patient identifiers needed
A written analysis, not a sales deck
No contract, and no obligation to proceed
Client results published with a stated measurement window, once available

Questions about accounts receivable recovery

How old is too old?

It depends on the payer's timely filing and appeal windows. We assess before quoting.

Is this priced differently from regular billing?

Usually yes — recovery work is often priced as a percentage of what's recovered. See pricing.

Can you do this without taking over my current billing?

Yes. Many practices start here.