Dental A/R Recovery Assessment
Custom scope; optional performance-based proposal
Insurance balances aging past 60 to 120+ days without a clear owner.
A/R Recovery
Recover Attention on the Receivables You Can't Afford to Ignore
Aged receivables are rarely one problem; they are hundreds of small ones with no owner.
The problem
Your aging report keeps getting heavier past 90 days, and no one can tell you which of those claims were already worked.
How we help
Structured follow-up on aged insurance receivables, from tracing to appeal.
Best for: Dental practices with growing insurance aging, Medical practices after staff turnover, Practices recovering from a system conversion, Groups preparing for an acquisition or audit.
Scope
What is included
Aging bucket analysis
Balances segmented into 30, 60, 90, and 120+ day buckets by payer, value, and likely cause.
Claim tracing
Confirmation of receipt, status, and processing stage for claims with no payer response.
Zero-payment claim review
Investigation of claims processed at zero to separate correctable issues from contractual or patient-responsibility outcomes.
Correction and appeal coordination
Corrected claims and appeal packets prepared with your clinicians supplying any clinical content.
Payer phone and portal follow-up
Structured status calls and portal checks with reference numbers recorded on each account.
Collection attribution
A transparent log connecting payments to the follow-up actions that preceded them, using definitions agreed in advance.
Weekly actions and status
A weekly report of accounts worked, outcomes, next actions, and recommended write-offs for your approval.
Not included
- Guaranteed recovery amounts or percentages
- Collection-agency activity against patients
- Legal action or legal advice
- Write-offs without your written approval
How it works
Step by step
- 01
Review aging report
You share a current aging report through a secure channel; no PHI through this website.
- 02
Classify balances
We group balances by age, payer, and likely root cause.
- 03
Determine actionable cases
We separate claims with a realistic path from those past deadlines or contractually closed.
- 04
Secure access and approval
Agreements, BAA as applicable, and least-privilege access are put in place.
- 05
Prioritized recovery work
Highest value and most deadline-sensitive accounts are worked first.
- 06
Transparent report
Weekly status, attributed payments, and root causes to prevent recurrence.
Illustrative chart, not from a client project: balances past 90 days tend to accumulate unless someone owns the follow-up.
What you keep control over
- Which accounts are worked and in what order
- Approval of every appeal and write-off
- Definitions used for attributing recovered payments
- Access to your systems and data
Compliance note
Where our work requires access to protected health information, it begins only after a signed services agreement and, as applicable, a business associate agreement (BAA). We use the minimum necessary access in client-owned systems. Our group security practices are ISO/IEC 27001-focused; that framework supports, but does not by itself establish, HIPAA compliance, which remains a shared responsibility defined by your agreements and safeguards. Any performance-based fee structure is offered only where appropriate under applicable state law, billing regulations, payer rules, and your agreement, and requires legal review.
More detail
Open any topic below.
Background and common problems
Aged receivables are rarely one problem; they are hundreds of small ones with no owner. We classify, prioritize, and work them with a documented trail, and tell you plainly what is recoverable effort and what is not.
An aging report groups unpaid balances by how long they have been open: 0 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, 91 to 120, and over 120 days. A healthy report thins out quickly as balances age. When the right side grows, it usually means claims are not being traced, denials are not being worked, and timely-filing and appeal windows are quietly closing.
Zincat brings structure to that backlog. We trace claims the payer says it never received, investigate zero-payment responses, coordinate corrections and appeals with your team, and follow up by payer phone line and portal. Every action is logged so you can see weekly what was done, what changed, and which payments can reasonably be attributed to that work.
- No record of prior attempts on old claims
- Claims the payer says were never received
- Zero-pay EOBs nobody investigated
- Timely-filing and appeal deadlines approaching
- Write-offs made by default rather than decision
- No way to tell which recovered payments came from follow-up
Commercial structures
Recovery work can be offered as a scoped fee or, only where appropriate under state law, billing regulations, and your agreement, as a performance-based proposal tied to clearly defined incremental, attributable recovered collections. There is no guarantee of collection under either model.
Sample reporting
An example of the kind of summary you would receive. Figures are demo data, not results.
DEMO DATA · NOT A CLIENT REPORT
- Accounts worked this week
- 86
- Traced / not on file
- 9
- Appeals submitted
- 7
- Payments attributed (agreed rules)
- $12,480
- Recommended write-offs pending approval
- 5
Is outside support the right choice?
| Option | Works well when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Keep fully in-house | Volume is steady, staff are trained, and reports are reviewed regularly. | Single points of failure when someone leaves or is out. |
| Targeted outside support | One queue (verification, A/R, credentialing) keeps falling behind. | Clear hand-offs so nothing falls between teams. |
| Broader outsourced RCM | Multiple stages are stretched and leadership wants one accountable partner. | Requires assessment, BAA, and well-defined metrics first. |
What to have ready
- Recent A/R aging and denial reports (no patient details in email)
- List of PMS/EHR, clearinghouse, and payer portals used
- Approximate monthly claim or appointment volume
- Who on your team will approve access and escalations
Related packages
Ways to engage
Dental RCM Management
Custom quote
Billing workload exceeds in-house capacity.
Prices are illustrative starting points pending management approval and are confirmed only in a written proposal.
FAQ
A/R Recovery questions
What is a focused A/R assessment?
A short engagement in which we review your aging report, classify balances, and identify which accounts have a realistic path to resolution. You receive a prioritized plan before committing to ongoing recovery work.
Do you work on a contingency or success fee?
We may propose a scoped fee or, where appropriate under state law, billing regulations, and your agreement, a performance-based structure tied to clearly defined, attributable incremental collections. Legal review is recommended before any such arrangement is signed.
How do you decide which claims to work first?
We weigh balance value, aging, timely-filing and appeal deadlines, and the likelihood that a correction or appeal can succeed. You approve the priority order.
Can you guarantee how much you will recover?
No. Recovery depends on documentation, payer rules, deadlines, and contracts. We commit to disciplined, documented follow-up and honest reporting.
What happens to claims that cannot be recovered?
We document why and recommend write-off or other handling for your decision. Nothing is written off without your approval.
Is this only a one-time cleanup?
It can be. Many practices begin with a cleanup project and then decide whether ongoing follow-up or full RCM support is worthwhile.
Next step
Talk through your a/r recovery workflow.
Tell us how things run today. We will point out where we see friction and be honest about whether we can help.