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Measuring AR Performance

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Days in Accounts Receivable

The first measure is the “days in accounts receivable” – the average number of days it takes to collect the payments due to the practice. To calculate days in AR,

  • Compute the average daily charges for the past several months – add up the charges posted for the last six months and divide by the total number of days in those months.
  • Divide the total accounts receivable by the average daily charges.  The result is the Days in Accounts Receivable.

total charges for last 6mo / number of days in last 6mo = average daily charges
total AR / average daily charges = days in AR
For instance, if you have charged $280,000 in the past six months, and if there were 182 days in those months, your average daily revenue is $1,538. Then, if your total accounts receivable is $70,000, the Days in Accounts Receivable is 45.5. It is taking an average of 45.5 days to collect your payments.

$280,000 / 182 = $1,538
$70,000 / $1,538 = 45.5

So is that good? Well, Medicare usually pays about 14 days after receiving a claim. Some HMOs pay claims at 45 days after receipt, the time allowed by law in some states. We look at the following figures as benchmarks for medical billing and collections:

  • 30 days or less for a High performing Medical Billing Department.
  • 40-50 days for an Average performing Medical Billing Department.
  • 60 days or more for a Below Average Medical Billing Department.

Measuring Medical Accounts Receivable:  “Aging Buckets”

The other measure is the percent of accounts receivable in each “aging bucket”, for instance, 0-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, etc. To calculate it, you will need a report showing the dollar amount of the AR in each aging bucket.  Simply convert each bucket to a percent of the total AR.   The graph below shows the contrast between better-performing billing departments vs. Average-performing billing departments.

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Need to speak with an expert about Medical Accounts Receivable?

CONTACT US TODAY; MMS Group at 805-709-4909 or email: mms@mmsgroup.us

Measuring AR Performance
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