Altruis Blog

Accounts receivable (AR) recovery services improve cash flow by helping companies collect aging payments before they become uncollectible. A strong AR recovery plan helps a regional hospital or health center stimulate revenue flow.

This article explains how AR recovery services work and why they are essential for organizational and community health.

Table of Contents

Why Are AR Recovery Services Necessary in Healthcare?

How Does AR Recovery Work in Healthcare?

Fast, Effective AR Recovery Services: How Altruis Can Help

Why Are AR Recovery Services Necessary in Healthcare?

Your health center deserves to be compensated for its services, but some patients and third-party payment sources are slow to pay. The longer a bill lingers on your aging list, the less likely it will be paid. 

Peterson-KFF research shows more than 90% of the U.S. population has some type of healthcare coverage but 41% still have outstanding healthcare debt. In total, 57% of U.S. adults have had overdue medical bills at some point in the past five years.

Regional Hospitals

Regional hospitals and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) tend to serve low-income patients who may not have the means to pay. Their bills languish on the list of collections for weeks or months unless the FQHC takes proactive steps to recover payment.

FQHCs

FQHCs rely on reimbursements from government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The amount of unpaid medical bills among the age 65 and older Medicare and Medicaid coverage group rose 20% between 2019 and 2020, putting pressure on the healthcare organizations serving these patients. 

Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare and Medicaid have been tightening their rules for reimbursable medical services in the past few years. Most health centers are experiencing a rise in rejected claims. Some of the common reasons for delayed and rejected payments include:

• Missing information
• Duplicate data or claims
• Improper medical coding
• Ineligible patients
• Lack of coverage and out-of-network claims
• Timing issues, including expired deadlines

Staffing Challenges Impact AR Recovery Efforts

Staffing challenges have also become a crisis in healthcare during the past decade. The American Hospital Association is predicting a shortage of 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026, including skilled medical billers and coders.

In this high-pressure healthcare environment, any health center without an active AR recovery program may struggle to stay afloat financially. Old, outdated AR practices may inhibit revenue generation. A lack of digitization, available staff, and other resources may also limit the ability to capture maximum revenue.

Better AR recovery not only strengthens the bottom line but also helps a healthcare facility improve patient care. Patients appreciate easier, more streamlined bill payments. Your staff flourishes when they can avoid the hassles and delays of a slow, frustrating AR process. The focus remains on serving patients and providing better experiences.

How Does AR Recovery Work in Healthcare?

In healthcare, AR recovery services use a variety of techniques to strengthen collections. Is your organization using all of the following methods to optimize its revenue flow? If not, a partner like Altruis can help you accomplish your goals.

Revenue Cycle Management

Revenue cycle management (RCM) involves improving billing and revenue generation practices end-to-end, across the revenue cycle. From ensuring providers have the right credentials to following up on long-overdue patient claims, RCM closes the gaps in revenue collection.

Billing Optimization

Billing process optimization focuses on the billing aspects of revenue generation. Your staff may need additional training or assistance with pre-verification, credentialing, billing, and third-party interactions. Even highly skilled and experienced associates often need extra help with the complexities of modern medical billing.

It may be time to update your facility’s Medicare and Medicaid billing methods to ensure every possible dollar is collected. Government programs are constantly changing due to new laws and processes, so it’s important to stay ahead of billing and coding changes.

Retroactive Revenue

A retroactive revenue strategy allows a provider to claim reimbursements for patients who have become eligible for coverage in the period since their service. This window won’t last forever, and when it closes, you lose revenue. Retroactive Medicaid coverage minimizes the negative impact of uncompensated care for FQHCs.

Fast, Effective AR Recovery Services: How Altruis Can Help

An AR recovery service could help your healthcare organization take a bold step forward in accomplishing quick and effective collections. Whether you just need staff augmentation to help with a limited number of tasks or full-scale RCM services for your end-to-end revenue cycle, Altruis can help.

We bring benefits including:

• A shorter and more accelerated revenue cycle
• More claims processed and paid every month
• Fewer rejections and denials from payment sources
• A more fully digitized, paperless process
• Stronger relationships with third-party payment sources
• A healthier practice for patients, providers, and associates
• Better patient care and experiences

Altruis provides a full range of revenue management services, including billing assistance, coding assistance, and comprehensive RCM. We’re here to work as your partner and help you succeed in healthcare.

To learn more about one of the nation’s leading AR recovery services, request a free billing assessment from Altruis.