The company responsible for old claims depends on your transition agreement. Your outgoing biller may complete the legacy AR, the new billing partner may take it over, or your internal team may handle it. The safest approach is to assign every open claim to one responsible party, document the handoff, and track denials, appeals, payments, and deadlines until resolution.
When transitioning to a new partner, The Medicator’s RCM services can be structured around both current billing and outstanding accounts so legacy revenue does not disappear during the handoff.
Who can own legacy AR?
There is no universal rule requiring the old or new billing company to follow every outstanding claim. The contract and transition plan should establish responsibility.
Common arrangements include:
- Outgoing partner: Continues working claims generated before the cutover date.
- New partner: Imports the open AR and manages follow-up from the transition date.
- Practice staff: Handles selected accounts when the practice retains billing responsibilities.
- Divided responsibility: Each company manages a defined claim population based on date of service, payer, claim status, or another documented boundary.
The important issue is not which model you choose. It is whether one person or team is clearly accountable for every unresolved account.
What should the handoff report contain?
A useful legacy-AR inventory should show the:
Claim → payer → balance → status → denial reason → last action → next action → deadline → assigned owner
Include rejected claims, appeals, corrected claims, patient balances, and unposted payments. Preserve relevant Medical Coding information, CPT and ICD-10 details, remittance records, and documentation needed for follow-up.
Specialty example: cardiology
Suppose a cardiology practice changes billing partners while several procedure claims are under payer review. The new team should receive the original claim, authorization information, payer response, Medical Coding details, and follow-up history. Without those records, staff may repeat work or miss an appeal deadline.
A practical transition safeguard
Ask the outgoing and incoming companies to review the same legacy AR reconciliation. Compare the number and value of open claims before and after transfer, then investigate discrepancies.
The Medicator’s AR management services can help organize aging accounts, prioritize Claim Denials, and maintain follow-up ownership. Your transition agreement should also address Eligibility Verification, Prior Authorization, Claim Scrubbing, Payment Posting, Credentialing, and Compliance responsibilities where applicable.
Before the switch is finalized, do not ask only, “Who gets the old AR?” Ask, “Who owns each unresolved claim until it is paid, appealed, adjusted, or otherwise closed?” That distinction helps protect revenue throughout the transition.
