A backlog too large to work alongside daily billing
Current claims always win the argument for attention, and rightly so — which is why a backlog needs its own capacity rather than good intentions.
Medical Billing AR Cleanup & Recovery
Aged accounts receivable is usually a mix of three things: claims that are still collectable, claims that need one correction to become collectable, and claims that should have been closed long ago. Treating all three the same is the reason most backlogs never move.
In short
AR cleanup is a scoped project on an aged receivables backlog, run separately from day-to-day follow-up. The balance is triaged into collectable, correctable and closeable, deadline-driven claims are worked first, and uncollectable balances are closed with a documented reason.
Rev Cura runs cleanup as a scoped project with a defined start, a defined scope and a closing report — deliberately separate from ongoing follow-up so it does not compete with current-month work for the same attention.
The outcome is not only recovered revenue. It is an accounts receivable figure that means something, which matters if you are reporting to partners, a lender or a buyer.
Who this is for
- Practices that have just left a billing vendor and inherited a backlog with no history
- Practices carrying a large balance over 120 days
- Groups that want the books to reflect what is genuinely collectable
- Practices preparing for a sale, merger, partner buy-in or financing review
- Practices whose in-house team cannot work a backlog and the current month at the same time
What goes wrong
Problems this solves
No view of what is still in time
Filing and appeal windows vary by payer. Without triage against those deadlines, effort goes into claims that expired months ago while recoverable ones lapse.
Balances that will never be paid
Carrying them inflates AR, distorts days in AR, and makes the aging report less useful every month it continues.
Inherited claims with no documented history
Claims from a previous vendor often arrive with no record of what was tried. Rebuilding that history is part of the work, not a reason to skip it.
Credit balances and overpayments left unresolved
A backlog frequently contains money owed in the other direction. Leaving it unaddressed is its own risk.
The process
How we run it
STEP 01
Scope and triage
The backlog is triaged into collectable, correctable and closeable, with the reasoning recorded for each group so the decisions can be reviewed.
STEP 02
Prioritize by deadline and value
Anything approaching a filing or appeal deadline is worked first, weighted by recoverable value.
STEP 03
Work the recoverable
Corrections, resubmissions, appeals and payer escalation on the claims where recovery is realistic.
STEP 04
Resolve credit balances
Overpayments and credit balances identified during the sweep are surfaced so they can be handled properly rather than sitting on the ledger.
STEP 05
Close the rest
Uncollectable balances are closed with a documented reason so your AR reflects reality.
STEP 06
Report and hand back
A closing report showing what was recovered, what was closed, why, and what the ongoing follow-up process needs to look like so the backlog does not rebuild.
What you get
Deliverables
A triage report
The backlog split into collectable, correctable and closeable, with reasoning.
A recovery worklist
Ranked by deadline and value, worked to completion within the project scope.
A credit balance summary
What is owed back, and to whom.
A closing report
Recovered, closed and why — a document you can hand to a partner, lender or buyer.
How it is measured
What we report on
Agreed at the start of the engagement, reported on a fixed rhythm, with commentary rather than a raw export.
Opening backlog by value and age
Value recovered during the project
Value closed as uncollectable, with reasons
Claims recovered from within filing deadlines
Credit balances identified
Closing AR position by bucket
We report your figures. We do not publish benchmark numbers we cannot evidence for your practice.
Benefits
What changes
- A backlog worked without pulling capacity off current claims
- AR figures that reflect what is genuinely collectable
- Deadline-driven claims worked before the window closes
- Credit balances surfaced rather than left sitting
- A documented outcome you can show a lender, buyer or partner
Scope
Why practices choose Rev Cura →
What stays with your practice
Cleanup is scoped after we have seen the aging detail. We will not quote a recovery figure before looking at the data, because that number would be invented.
Some of the backlog will be genuinely dead. Telling you a balance is unrecoverable is part of the service, not a failure of it.
A cleanup fixes the backlog. It does not fix the process that created it — if the underlying follow-up cadence does not change, the backlog rebuilds, and we will say so in the closing report.
Frequently asked questions
How is cleanup priced?
As a scoped project, quoted after we have seen the aging detail. We will not quote recovery figures before looking at the data.
Will you tell us claims are uncollectable?
Yes, when they are. Telling you a balance is dead is more useful than billing you to chase it.
Can you clean up AR without taking over our billing?
Yes. Cleanup is frequently a standalone project, and for many practices it is how the relationship starts.
How long does a cleanup take?
It depends on the size and age of the backlog and on payer responsiveness. The scope and expected duration are agreed in writing before the project starts.
What happens to the backlog we build up during the project?
Nothing, if the ongoing follow-up cadence is working. If it is not, the closing report says so — a cleanup that leaves the process unchanged simply buys time.
Do you handle claims from a previous billing company?
Yes, and it is a common starting point. Inherited claims usually need their history rebuilt before they can be worked, which is part of the triage.
Related services
Accounts Receivable Follow-up
Cadences by payer and aging bucket that keep claims moving.
Explore →Denial Management
Root-cause categorization, appeals and prevention loops.
Explore →Revenue Cycle Management
Front-end to back-end ownership with agreed service levels.
Explore →