Clear up OLD A/R CLAIMS in just 14 days
Low effort to read, big payoff to implement—and if you’d rather not lift a finger, we’ll run the whole blitz for you.
What is a Backlog Blitz?
A focused, time-boxed sprint (10–14 days) to work down aged claims (60/90/120+ days), recover cash, and reset your A/R. It combines ruthless prioritization, daily cadence, and tight communication so you see wins this month, not next quarter.
Prefer to stay clinical? Quest National Services can run the entire blitz—from data pull to payer calls, appeals, and daily reporting—while your team keeps caring for patients.
Outcomes you can expect
- Cash acceleration: collect the collectible; convert “stale” into deposits.
- Denials down: fix root causes uncovered in the backlog.
- Cleaner pipeline: fewer touches per claim after the blitz.
- Clarity: exactly which payers/CPTs cause drag—and what we’ll do about it.
We do this routinely. Hand us the aged A/R and we’ll return daily recoveries and a post-blitz prevention plan.
The 14-Day Plan (at a glance)
Day 0 (Prep)
- Export A/R aging with: payer, DOS, CPT, billed/paid, denial codes, notes.
- Spin up a working tracker (Google Sheet/PM report) with owner & due date per claim.
- Define SLA: daily updates, end-of-day resubmits, appeals within payer window.
- Schedule 10-minute standups + a 30-minute midpoint review + final readout.
Days 1–12 (Execution)
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Prioritize by Collectability Score
Score = $ Value × (Payer Pay % / Denial Severity) × Days-To-Deadline- Work first: high-value, within timely-filing/appeal windows, fixable denials (auth, modifier, eligibility, bundling).
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Triage Every Line Into Four Buckets
- Clean-up & Resubmit (fixable edit, missing doc)
- Appeal Now (payer-specific forms, supporting evidence)
- Underpayment Recovery (compare to contract; request reprocess)
- Uncollectible/Write-off with Justification (document and prevent repeat)
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Daily Cadence
- Morning: queue building & payer calls.
- Midday: resubmits/appeals filed.
- Afternoon: ERA/EOB posting; tracker & notes updated.
- End of day: blitz dashboard sent (claims worked, $ recovered, next obstacles).
Days 13–14 (Lock-In + Prevent)
- Close remaining actions; document outcomes.
- Deliver Root-Cause Report (top denial reasons, payer quirks, code issues).
- Implement fast fixes: edit rules, eligibility/auth steps, modifier prompts, templates.
- Agree on post-blitz weekly rhythm (keep A/R fresh).
Short on bandwidth? We can staff and quarterback the entire 14-day sprint, including payer escalation and appeals.
What you need on one page (copy/paste checklist)
Data columns (minimum):
- Patient | DOS | CPT/HCPCS | Units | Billed | Paid | Balance
- Payer | Plan type | Claim # | Status | Denial (CARC/RARC) | Notes
- Last touch date | Next action | Owner | Due date
Artifacts to prepare:
- Fee schedules (by payer) for underpayment checks
- Common appeal templates (medical necessity, bundling, coding, auth)
- Payer contact list & provider enrollment IDs
- Evidence packets: clinical notes, auth approvals, referrals, EOBs
Blitz roles (RACI light):
- Runner (R): works claims, calls payers, files appeals
- Approver (A): signs off on write-offs/escalations
- Consulted (C): coding lead for modifier/ICD questions
- Informed (I): practice manager/physician owner via daily recap
Don’t want to assemble this? We bring the tracker, templates, and team.
Scripts & templates you can steal
Payer call opener (status + action):
“Calling about Claim #____ for DOS ___. I’m seeing CARC ___ / RARC ___. We have [auth #/notes attached]. Can we reprocess with [modifier/corrected claim] today, or should I submit a level-1 appeal?”
Appeal packet (quick contents):
- Cover letter referencing denial code + policy citation
- Corrected claim + itemized bill
- Clinical documentation (highlighted)
- Auth/eligibility proof, referral, NPI/Tax ID
- Payer form (if required), filing within window proof
Underpayment reprocess email:
“Per contract rate for CPT ___ under Payer ___ (Fee Schedule p.), allowed should be $. Paid $__. Please reprocess and remit difference or provide policy reference.”
Prefer we handle the calls, packets, and escalations? We’ll run the outreach and keep receipts for every touch.
How we prioritize (so dollars arrive fastest)
- $ Value × Win Likelihood: target big claims with solvable reasons.
- Clock: anything within 30/15/7 days of timely filing/appeal jumps the line.
- Payer Velocity: move payers with quick reprocess times to create early wins.
- Root-Cause Clusters: fix 1 rule → rescue dozens of claims.
This is where our specialty experience pays off—we know which levers move fastest by payer and CPT family.
Dashboard you’ll see daily
- Claims worked / resolved / appealed
- $ recovered today and cumulative $
- Top 3 denials solved (before/after count)
- Underpayments identified vs. reprocessed
- A/R aging shift (90+ shrinks, 0–30 grows)
- Next blockers (what we need from you, if anything)
Want zero homework? We’ll present this in a 10-minute standup and keep you out of the weeds.
Common pitfalls (and how the blitz avoids them)
- Missing documentation: pre-flight checklist before any appeal.
- Stalled escalations: diarized callbacks; escalate after SLA breaches.
- Duplicate work: one owner per claim; notes in a single tracker.
- Rejections post-resubmit: scrub with payer-specific edits first.
- Wins that don’t stick: ERA posting + variance check every afternoon.
We’ve already solved these in other practices—let us apply the same guardrails for you.
After the blitz: keep the gains
- Lock in daily submissions (no batching).
- Add front-end checks (eligibility/auth/modifier prompts).
- Stand up monthly denial reviews (Zoom, 30 minutes).
- Track CCR/FPA/A/R days visibly on a one-page dashboard.
Or skip the maintenance work we’ll stay on as your day-to-day RCM team and keep A/R tight.
TL;DR
A 14-day Backlog Blitz turns dusty A/R into deposits, exposes the denial patterns costing you money, and hardens your workflow so it doesn’t pile up again. You can run it with the checklists above—or we can do the leg work end-to-end.