For healthcare providers, patient relationships are critical and must remain intact, particularly when leaving unpaid balances. For healthcare providers, a trusted healthcare partner would be needed to recover that money while maintaining patient relationships. This is where a medical collection agency comes in.
As a hospital, a private clinic, a chiropractor, or a solo physician, selecting the appropriate medical debt collection agencies could mean the difference between a big increase in your revenue cycle or a major decrease. Here, we demystify the top 10 healthcare collection agency options in the USA in simple terms, so you can select the right one for your practice.
What Is a Medical Collections Agency and Why Does It Matter?
A medical collections agency can be a business that assists healthcare providers in collecting repayments owed to them. If a patient does not pay their bill after repeated attempts, they can be passed on to a collections agency. The agency then follows up with the patient to obtain the remaining balance.
When it comes to medical billing collection services, they don’t just relentlessly chase payments. They comply with healthcare regulations such as HIPAA, maintain patient communication, and ensure effective debt collection through technology. The right agency will add to your cash flow and safeguard your reputation.
Now, let us look at the top 10 companies doing this job in the USA.
1. Doctor Management Services (DMS)
On number one, we have Doctor Management Services, created with a single aim: to enable specialists and medical practices to get paid more quickly and effectively. DoctorMGT was created for independent doctors and specialty clinics that were being negatively affected by unpaid accounts and inadequate billing practices.
DMS is a complete medical collection agency, providing bespoke debt recovery options to healthcare providers of every size. They are experts in collaborating with physician groups, specialty clinics, and independent practices. This team is well-versed in medical billing specifics and adopts a patient-centric collections strategy without compromising the provider’s reputation.
- HIPAA-compliant collections process
- Real-time reporting dashboard for providers
- The ability to integrate with leading Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems.
- Multiple communication channels: telephone, postal, text, and email
- Each client will have a dedicated account manager.
- Follows up on primary and secondary insurance claims
- Works across multiple states and is licensed and compliant.
DMS stands out because they treat every patient account individually rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. They have been one of the most reputable health care billing companies for specialty practices.
2. MedBill Collections
MedBill Collections was established to help connect providers with unpaid patient bills. The company has expanded its operations from a small regional business to a nationwide provider of services, celebrated for its ethical and technology-rich practices.
MedBill Collections offers medical debt collection agency services for the entire medical bill collection process, including hospitals, urgent care centers, and private medical practices. They are very proactive about early out collections, ensuring that the accounts are not allowed to become too far overdue before taking action, thereby raising the chances of full recovery.
One area in which MedBill Collections is especially recognized is the transparent reporting that it provides and its flexibility in creating payment plans that help patients actually pay their bills, resulting in increased recovery rates.
3. Transworld Systems Inc. (TSI)
Transworld Systems Inc. (TSI) has been one of the top debt collection firms since 1970, and the company is one of the most experienced debt collection firms around. It has built up a strong healthcare department over the years.
TSI provides medical billing collection services to hospitals, physician groups, and health systems. A layered approach, beginning with patient reminders that are friendly and increasing only as needed.
4. Performant Recovery
Performant Recovery has been around since 1976 and has decades of experience with government and commercial debt recovery, with a focus on the healthcare industry.
As a healthcare collection agency, Performant Recovery works with health systems, Medicare/Medicaid providers, and commercial insurance clients. They have a particular ability to uncover billing fraud, such as over-payments or under-payments, in audits.
5. CBC (Credit Collections Bureau)
Credit Collections Bureau has been catering to the healthcare industry for more than 40 years. It began as a regional Credit Bureau and progressed to a complete Healthcare Collections agency.
CBC is a medical collections agency geared toward small-to-midsize practices, such as dental offices and specialty clinics. Compliance is their name and their game, they are said to be. It’s a pretty well-known license in all 50 states.
Pro Tip: Let me tell you one thing that, at this point in your search for the best medical debt collection agencies, it is worth knowing that specialty practices like chiropractors and injury clinics have unique billing challenges. This is why services like personal injury collections and chiropractic collections have become their own specialty within the broader healthcare collections world. Agencies that understand the lien-based billing process, insurance delays, and attorney involvement in personal injury cases can recover significantly more than general collection firms.
6. Americollect
Americollect was established in Wisconsin in 1964. It has earned a reputation for being a “ridiculously nice” collection agency whose own slogan is based on respectful patient communication.
Americollect has been primarily servicing hospitals and health systems in the USA with medical billing collection services. They are renowned for their ability to keep patients happy throughout the collection process.
7. National Recovery Agency (NRA)
National Recovery Agency was established in 1991 and has since expanded to become a collections company for a wide range of industries, with a specific healthcare segment.
NRA is a healthcare collection agency for hospitals, labs, radiology centers, and outpatient facilities. They do early and late collections. It’s also HIPAA and SOC 2 certified, and for good reason, as it has been known to have Multilingual patient communication (English and Spanish).
8. IC System
IC System has been in business since 1938, making it one of the oldest collection agencies in the USA. They’ve been around in the medical collections for a long time and are family-owned. IC System works as a medical collection agency for hospitals, dental offices, and Doctors’ offices. They have strong experience, so it is a reliable and stable partner.
9. Wakefield & Associates
Wakefield & Associates was founded in 1947. They are licensed nationwide and have been serving the healthcare industry for decades, and are based in Colorado. Wakefield is the complete medical collections agency for hospitals, healthcare networks, and providers. Their team has comprehensive knowledge of hospital revenue cycle management.
10. Medicredit (A Savista Company)
Medicredit has been operating for over 50 years and was recently acquired by Savista, a major healthcare revenue cycle company, further strengthening its capabilities.
They works as a healthcare collection agency for large hospitals and health systems. They are particularly strong in combining collections with patient financial assistance programs, helping patients find ways to pay rather than just demanding payment.
For large practices dealing with complex billing involving USA medical billing and coding companies, Medicredit’s connection to Savista’s coding and billing expertise gives them a distinct advantage in recovering revenue tied to coding errors or claim denials.
How to Choose the Right Medical Debt Collection Agency for Your Practice
Picking the right medical billing collection services partner is not just about who recovers the most money. Here are the key things to look for:
1. Compliance:
The agency must follow HIPAA (patient data privacy) and the FDCPA (fair debt collection practices). Non-compliance can expose your practice to serious legal risk.
2. Specialty Experience:
If you run a chiropractic clinic or personal injury practice, look for firms that specifically offer chiropractic collections and personal injury collections. These require knowledge of liens, letters of protection, and attorney coordination, which general agencies often lack.
3. Technology:
Modern agencies use predictive dialers, patient portals, EHR integrations, and data analytics. These tools directly improve recovery rates.
4. Transparency:
You should receive clear, regular reports on how your accounts are performing. Avoid agencies that keep you in the dark.
5. Patient Experience:
A collection agency that is respectful and professional with your patients helps protect your practice’s reputation in the community.
Final Thoughts
The success of a medical practice depends on the medical collection agency that they hire. The 10 companies below are medical debt collection agencies that are considering to be the most trustable in the USA, each with its own set of advantages based on your practice type, size, and needs.
If you are a specialty practice seeking customizations, hands-on assistance, get start with Doctor Management Services. If you run a larger health system, it might be more appropriate to go with a company such as Medicredit or Wakefield. And, if you work in the field of injury-related billing, it is important that your agency has a proven history of chiropractic collections and personal injury collections in particular.
Your right partner will not only get you your money back, but they will get you it in a fashion that will keep your patients coming back.
