AR recovery services work the old insurance balances your practice has stopped chasing: claims that were never received, never paid, denied and not appealed, or underpaid. The job is to sort every open balance by age, payer and status, act first on the claims that are still recoverable and closest to a deadline, and write off only what is truly lost, with a reason recorded. Speed matters, because filing and appeal deadlines quietly turn recoverable money into write-offs.
Why old AR becomes unrecoverable
Every payer has a clock, and most old balances die because nobody watched it. Some of the deadlines that matter most:
| Rule | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Medicare initial claim filing | No later than 1 calendar year after the date of service |
| Medicare first appeal (redetermination) | Within 120 calendar days of receiving the initial determination |
| Medicare Advantage reconsideration | Within 60 calendar days of receiving the written denial notice |
| New York state-regulated plans: initial claim | Within 120 days after the date of service, unless the contract allows longer |
| Texas HMO and PPO plans: claim filing | Within 95 days of the date of service (Texas-licensed providers) |
| Florida health insurers: claim to primary insurer | Within 6 months after the date of service for outpatient care, once the provider has the insurer's correct details |
Commercial contracts and Medicaid plans add their own limits. A recovery project starts by putting every open claim next to its deadline.
How AR recovery works, step by step
- Pull the full aging report by payer, date of service and current status, not just a total by bucket.
- Check claim status with each payer through the portal or electronic claim status inquiries. Many "unpaid" claims were never received, were rejected at the clearinghouse, or are waiting for information the payer asked for.
- Sort into action groups: never received, pending, denied, underpaid, patient responsibility, and past every deadline.
- Work by recoverability and deadline: claims closest to a filing or appeal limit first, then the largest balances.
- Resubmit with proof of timely filing when a payer says a claim was never received; keep clearinghouse acceptance reports.
- Appeal denials that were judgment calls, and correct and resubmit those that were billing errors.
- Challenge underpayments against your contracted fee schedule.
- Write off on purpose: every write-off gets a reason code and approval, so the cause can be fixed.
What to look for when the balance is "no response"
- The claim was rejected at the clearinghouse and nobody saw the report.
- The payer requested medical records or other information and the letter was missed.
- The claim went to the wrong payer or the wrong address after a plan change.
- The provider was not yet credentialed or effective with that payer on the date of service.
- Coordination of benefits is unresolved, so the plan is waiting for the patient to update other coverage.
Each of these has a different fix, which is why recovery starts with a status check, not a resubmission.
Eligibility verification (EV), benefits verification (BV), prior authorizations, and denial management at no cost for your first 30 days.
30-Day Free TrialStop the backlog from rebuilding
Recovering old AR without fixing its causes means doing the same project again next year. The usual causes are front-end errors (eligibility, authorizations), claims that are not followed up after submission, and denials that are not worked inside their deadlines. Our eligibility verification and denial management services exist to stop AR from aging in the first place, and our guide to insurance companies not paying claims covers the payment deadlines payers themselves must meet.
Questions to ask an AR recovery company
- How do you decide which balances to work first?
- Do you check claim status before resubmitting anything?
- How do you prove timely filing when a payer says it never received a claim?
- Who approves write-offs, and will we see a reason for each?
- Do you charge separately for working old AR, and how is it priced?
- Will you also fix the causes, or only work the backlog?
How Sterling Global Solution LLC recovers old AR
We start with a full aging review against each payer's deadlines, check status on every open claim, and work the recoverable balances by deadline and size: resubmitting with proof of timely filing, appealing denials, correcting billing errors and challenging underpayments. Every write-off comes to you with a reason. At the same time we take over day-to-day billing so new claims do not age, and you can see the front-end work on your own patients through our 30-Day Free Trial.
Frequently asked questions
What are AR recovery services?
How long do I have to file a Medicare claim?
Can old denied claims still be recovered?
What should I do if a payer says it never received a claim?
How do I stop old AR from building up again?
Sources
Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR 424.44 (Medicare claim filing), 42 CFR 405.942 (redetermination) and 42 CFR 422.582 (Medicare Advantage reconsideration).
New York Insurance Law, section 3224-a(g): 120-day claim submission period.
Texas Department of Insurance, Prompt Pay FAQ: 95-day claim filing deadline under Texas Insurance Code 1301.102(a) and 843.337.
Florida Statutes, section 627.6131: claims to the primary insurer within 6 months.
Contracts and plan manuals can set different deadlines; check each payer. How we verify this guidance.
Related reading
- Insurance companies not paying claims. The payment deadlines payers must meet, and how to escalate.
- Denial management services. Working every denial before its deadline.
- Cutting days in AR. A playbook for keeping AR from aging.
- Why are insurance claims denied?. The causes behind most denied balances.
Stop new AR from aging
Eligibility verification (EV), benefits verification (BV), prior authorizations, and denial management at no cost for your first 30 days.
30-Day Free TrialNo setup fee. No long-term contract.