A defined backlog.
Set an opening inventory, date range, payer scope, and rules for accounts already worked by another team. Keep the original balance and subsequent activity visible so results can be traced to that inventory.
Accounts receivable support for PT practices
Physical therapy AR services.
Follow through on what’s outstanding.
An aging report shows the balances. Your team still needs to know which claims require action, what is holding them up, and who will follow through.
William Avery helps physical therapy practices review accounts receivable, follow up on unpaid claims, and connect unresolved balances to a clear next step. We discuss the backlog and your current workflow before defining the work.
Discuss your A/RPart of our physical therapy billing services.
Start with the underlying issue
Five open balances.
Five different tasks.
PT accounts can contain multiple dates of service, treatment lines, and payer responses. Review the affected claim or line before deciding that an entire episode of care has the same problem.
| What you see | What to review | The next decision |
|---|---|---|
| No payer response | Submission acknowledgment, payer claim identifier, and current processing status. | Confirm receipt and identify the next status check before sending another claim. |
| Denied or awaiting records | Remittance, requested information, prior responses, and applicable deadline. | Route a supported correction, documentation response, or appeal to its owner. |
| Partial or unexpected payment | Service-line payment, allowed amount, contract terms, and adjustments. | Check whether the difference reflects an expected adjustment or a payment issue to pursue. |
| Payment not reflected in A/R | Remittance, deposit details, posting history, and unapplied payments. | Reconcile the account before treating a paid claim as an unpaid balance. |
| Secondary or patient balance | Primary adjudication, other coverage, responsibility assignment, and prior statements. | Confirm the next responsible party and the practice’s approved follow-up process. |
CMS describes electronic claim-status requests and responses as a way to check Medicare claims. Available tools depend on your system and payer. Read CMS’s claim-status guidance. For disputed decisions, explore our physical therapy denial management approach.
Use age as context
Build an A/R worklist
around urgency.
Review aging alongside response deadlines, balance size, payer status, and missing information. A newer claim approaching a filing deadline may need action before an older claim that is awaiting a documented payer response.
0–30 days31–60 days61–90 days91–120 daysOver 120 days
Agree on the starting date.
Is age measured from the date of service, billing, or a later event? HFMA’s billed A/R definition uses date of service for outpatient accounts. Keep your reporting basis consistent so rebilling or moving a balance does not hide its history.
HFMA: A/R aging definitions ↗Keep the PT record connected.
Authorization dates, approved visits or units, treatment documentation, and earlier submissions may explain why a claim remains open. Link the relevant evidence to the work item and request missing clinical information from the practice.
Define the assignment
Historical cleanup or
ongoing A/R follow-up?
These need different starting points. We confirm the systems, access, responsibilities, and available records before agreeing on either arrangement.
A continuing workflow.
Agree when unresolved claims enter follow-up, who handles new submissions, how responses return to the practice, and when issues escalate. Coordinate payer contacts so two teams do not pursue the same claim independently.
Insurance and patient follow-up need separate instructions.
A payer denial does not automatically make the patient responsible. Review the remittance’s responsibility assignment and applicable requirements before transferring a balance. Confirm patient communication, statement, adjustment, and escalation responsibilities in the service scope. CMS explains how remittance codes communicate payment and responsibility.
Reporting you can reconcile
Show what changed.
Explain why.
A lower A/R total needs an explanation. Track payments separately from approved adjustments, balance transfers, and other changes. Pair the totals with unresolved reasons, overdue next actions, and decisions needed from your team.
For ongoing billing, review aging by payer and responsible party alongside days in A/R. Keep definitions and reporting dates consistent. For a cleanup project, follow the same opening inventory through to its remaining balance.
- Opening receivables
- $10,000
- Payments applied
- − $2,000
- Approved adjustments
- − $1,000
- Remaining receivables
- $7,000
The balance fell by $3,000. Payments account for $2,000 of that change.
Educational example, not client results. Assumes no new charges, transfers, refunds, or other activity in this fixed inventory.A practical handoff
Start with a record
both teams can use.
The first review should establish what belongs in scope and how your team will see progress. Avoid moving patient records into an informal spreadsheet or email thread just to start a conversation.
- 01 / Inventory
Establish the baseline.
Agree on the report date, aging basis, outstanding balances, payer mix, and excluded accounts. Reconcile known posting issues before treating the total as a recovery opportunity.
- 02 / Ownership
Set the working rules.
Confirm authorized system access, who supplies records, who approves adjustments, and which team contacts each payer or patient.
- 03 / Review
Make outcomes visible.
Use a work record with the last action, response, next action, owner, and due date. Review cash, remaining balances, and unresolved practice decisions together.
Questions from practice owners
About PT accounts
receivable services.
What are physical therapy AR services?
Physical therapy accounts receivable services organize and follow up on outstanding practice balances. The work includes confirming claim status, reviewing payment differences, coordinating denied-claim responses, and reporting what remains unresolved. The scope should identify insurance follow-up, patient-balance work, payment posting, and adjustment authority separately.
Can you help with older PT accounts receivable?
We can review a historical backlog during scoping. Age alone does not tell us whether a balance is collectible. We need claim history, payer responses, available supporting records, and any remaining filing or appeal options before agreeing on the work.
Is A/R follow-up the same as denial management?
Denials are one part of A/R. An open balance may also be a pending claim, an unposted payment, a secondary claim, or a patient responsibility question. That distinction determines who should act and which information is needed.
What do physical therapy AR services cost?
Pricing depends on the inventory, age and complexity of balances, systems, prior follow-up, and responsibilities included. Ask how legacy balances, minimum fees, patient follow-up, and any collection-based fee are defined. William Avery scopes the work before proposing terms.
Does every balance over 120 days need to be written off?
No. An aging category is a reporting tool, not an automatic write-off instruction. Review the facts and available response options. Adjustments and write-offs should follow an agreed approval process; no provider can promise that every older balance will pay.
What should we bring to an introduction?
Bring your billing system, approximate outstanding balance, aging summary, payer mix, and the part of follow-up consuming the most staff time. Summary information is enough for the first conversation. Any later patient-level review needs an agreed secure process.
Let’s look at the work
Make your open A/R
easier to act on.
Tell us about the balances taking your team’s time and the visibility you need.
Talk through your A/R
Schedule an introduction on Calendly.
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Sources & review
Prepared by William Avery. References checked . Claim outcomes depend on the record and applicable payer requirements.