The Aging A/R Problem
If your practice has significant accounts receivable sitting in the 60, 90, or 120+ day aging buckets, you're not alone — but you are leaving money on the table. Industry benchmarks suggest that claims unpaid after 90 days have only a 50% chance of being collected, and that drops to under 20% after 120 days.
The key to healthy cash flow is keeping your days in A/R under 35 and aggressively working claims before they age past the point of recovery.
Understanding Your A/R Aging Report
Your A/R aging report is the single most important financial tool in your practice. It categorizes outstanding claims by age:
- 0–30 days: Current — these should represent the majority of your A/R
- 31–60 days: Follow-up needed — check claim status with payers
- 61–90 days: At risk — escalate to dedicated A/R recovery team
- 91–120 days: Critical — aggressive follow-up and appeal if applicable
- 120+ days: Final effort — consider secondary collection strategies
Proven A/R Recovery Strategies
1. Prioritize by Dollar Amount
Not all aging claims deserve equal attention. Sort your aging A/R by dollar amount and focus recovery efforts on high-value claims first. A single $5,000 claim in the 90-day bucket is worth more attention than fifty $20 claims.
2. Identify Root Causes
Before working individual claims, look for patterns. Are most aging claims from one payer? One CPT code? One provider? Fixing systemic issues prevents future aging.
3. Use Payer-Specific Follow-Up Protocols
Each payer has different processes for claim inquiries, appeals, and escalations. Build payer-specific follow-up workflows that include:
- Phone numbers for provider services
- Online portal access for claim status checks
- Appeal submission addresses and formats
- Escalation contacts for stalled claims
4. Leverage Technology
Automated A/R management tools can flag aging claims, auto-generate follow-up tasks, and track resolution. This prevents claims from falling through the cracks as they age.
5. Appeal Aggressively
Many denied or underpaid claims in the aging buckets are recoverable through appeals. Don't accept a denial as final — up to 67% of denied claims can be overturned with proper documentation.
Prevention Is Better Than Recovery
The best A/R strategy is preventing claims from aging in the first place:
- Submit claims within 24 hours of service
- Verify eligibility before every visit
- Use claim scrubbing to catch errors pre-submission
- Post payments and work EOBs daily
- Follow up on every unpaid claim at 21 days
When to Bring in a Recovery Specialist
If your A/R over 90 days exceeds 15% of total receivables, or if your days in A/R is above 45, it may be time to bring in a dedicated recovery team. Professional A/R recovery services typically recover 20–40% of what was previously written off.
Our A/R recovery specialists have collected millions in aged receivables for practices across the country. Get a free A/R analysis to see how much you could recover.