A good AR aging percentage for a medical practice depends on specialty, payer mix, patient population, and the type of A/R being measured. Rather than using one universal percentage, practices should closely monitor how much of their A/R is aging beyond 90 days.
A useful healthcare benchmark is to keep A/R over 90 days below 10% when possible. MGMA revenue-cycle guidance identifies A/R over 90 days below 10% as a benchmark, while HFMA recommends tracking aged A/R across 0–30, 31–60, 61–90, 91–120, and 120+ day categories.
The key areas to monitor are:
- 0–30 days: Current A/R that is generally still within the normal collection cycle.
- 31–60 days: Should be actively monitored for unpaid claims and unresolved balances.
- 61–90 days: Requires more focused follow-up, especially when payer delays or claim issues are involved.
- 90+ days: A critical aging category because older A/R can become increasingly difficult to collect. MGMA has described a goal of keeping 90% of A/R under 90 days.
For example, if a practice has $100,000 in total A/R, having less than $10,000 in A/R older than 90 days would align with the cited <10% benchmark. However, the practice should also examine why balances are aging rather than looking at the percentage alone.
A high 90+ day A/R percentage can point to issues such as unworked claims, unresolved denials, payer delays, authorization problems, coding errors, or ineffective follow-up. Tracking A/R by payer and aging category can help identify where those problems are occurring.
The Medicator’s can help practices monitor and work aging balances through A/R management services and broader revenue cycle management services, helping practices identify outstanding accounts and improve the collection workflow.
