Cracking the 60–120 Day Challenge: Optimizing Mid-Aged Healthcare Accounts Receivable

Imagine this: your healthcare practice is doing well with recent payments, and everything seems to be under control. But then the 60–120-day aging bucket starts to grow, and suddenly, it feels like money is slipping away without you even noticing. These mid-aged claims can slow down your cash flow and hurt your overall performance.

Here’s the good news: if you start paying attention to this often-ignored part of your healthcare accounts receivable, you can turn things around faster than you might expect.

Why the 60-120 days bucket matters in healthcare accounts receivable

A claim that goes past 60 days becomes much harder for you to collect from. There are studies that show claims over 90 days old are 50–60% less likely to be paid than newer ones. These mid-aged claims often get and remain stuck because of non-compliance with payer requirements, missing paperwork, or simple mistakes in coding or otherwise. But then you can always fix these issues. If you improve your collections in this 60–120-day bucket by just 10%, you could increase your total revenue by 3–4%. That’s a real difference for your bottom line.

Pain points in mid-aged bucket

One of the biggest healthcare accounts receivable challenges you might face is staffing. When your team is stretched too thin, those 60–120-day claims often get missed because there just aren’t enough hands to manage them. Follow-ups can also fall apart, maybe no one logs a phone call, the right documents don’t get sent, or no one takes ownership of the next step.

And let’s not forget how tricky getting paid by payers can sometimes be. After 60 days, things usually get more complicated. You might suddenly need to send in medical records, set up peer-to-peer reviews, or handle prior authorizations that were never started. All of this makes it even harder for you to get paid.

Smart strategies for optimization

You can turn the challenge of mid-aged claims into a real opportunity with a simple, people-first approach. Start by giving someone on your team clear responsibility for the 60–120-day aging bucket.

Next, confirm that you have the appropriate tools and clean data. Use payer portals to reduce manual tasks, flag claims that are getting older, and set up automated reminders for follow-up dates. You can handle those claims sooner if you take the time to examine your data and find trends, such as a particular insurance company consistently slowing things down.

Finally, handle the common reasons for denials as quickly as possible. You should ask for it within 10 days if something is missing. It is better if you can appeal a claim within 15 days. These small steps can make a big difference in how much you recover in the end.

When to outsource healthcare accounts receivable management

If your team is small, your technology is limited, or follow-up isn’t happening regularly, bringing in an expert in healthcare accounts receivable services can make a big difference for you. These outside partners already have strong processes, better tools, and experienced staff who know how to handle mid-aged claims quickly and efficiently. Some of them even focus specifically on the 60–120-day bucket, which means you get dedicated support, faster follow-ups, and more collections without adding pressure to your team.

How can SunKnowledge help

SunKnowledge Inc. is a trusted, ISO-certified company that helps practices like yours manage healthcare accounts receivable services from start to finish. We work with over 30 medical specialties and use our own proprietary workflows, secure processes, and a skilled team to help you collect more, shrink denials and cut your collection costs by as much as 80%.

If you’re struggling with the 60–120-day aging bucket, we have got you covered. Our team focuses on fixing denials quickly, following up with payers, and getting those stuck claims moving again. Many of our clients see a 30% drop in aged A/R in just the first month. If you are looking for a partner who truly understands this problem and knows how to fix it, SunKnowledge is ready to help you succeed.