---
title: 4 reasons your self-pay receivables underperform. And what to do about it!
description: Faced with an explosion in self-pay receivables, the only way for healthcare organizations to survive is by working smarter.
---

[ZOLL AR Boost Blog ](https://www.boostyourar.com/blog)

# [4 reasons your self-pay receivables underperform. And what to do about it!](https://www.boostyourar.com/blog/4-reasons-your-self-pay-receivables-underperform.-and-what-to-do-about-it)

 Written by [Tyler Williams, Director of Strategy, AR Optimization, ZOLL Data Systems](https://www.boostyourar.com/blog/author/tyler-williams) | Jan 1, 2019 6:56:00 PM

(2 min read) Faced with an explosion in self-pay receivables, the only way for healthcare organizations—from ambulance companies to acute care systems—to survive is by working *smarter*. Greater efficiency must be achieved and operational costs continually reduced.

Traditional methods to manage self-pay accounts are increasingly inadequate and fraught with failure. Here are four common mistakes providers make when processing self-pay receivables:

- **Data quality** – Deficient data integrity. Demographics and insurance information are missing or incorrect.
- **Forecasting** – Lack of receivables forecasting tools and analytics. Providers are unable to segment their self-pay received to determine a ***likely yield***
- **Compliance** –Distraction created by federal and state bookkeeping requisites. Another day, another new requirement.
- **Labor-intensive processes** – Applying the same recovery tactics to each account. Labor is costly. Wasting valuable time on self-pay accounts that may never yield reimbursement is a lose-lose strategy.

For greater efficiency, and self-pay value, new approaches to managing self-pay accounts must be considered. There are simply too many accounts to continue using the same-old, inefficient process. One of these strategies is to score and prioritize your self-pay accounts.

**Score and prioritize self-pay accounts **

Understanding the five core attributes that affect reimbursement and account performance is the first step to successfully targeting staff resources and actively managing the revenue cycle. Self-pay accounts can then be segmented by score value. Based on those score values, managers are empowered to select the best pathway for maximizing value from their receivables.

### 5 core attributes that affect self-pay A/R performance

1. **[Demographic Verification](http://www.payorlogic.com/demo-verification/)** – Validate guarantor’s contact information
2. **[Insurance Discovery](http://www.payorlogic.com/insurance-discovery/)** – Search self-pay for hidden payor coverage
3. **[Self-Pay Analysis](http://www.payorlogic.com/self-pay-analyzer/)** – Define propensity to pay and who qualifies for financial assistance
4. **[Insurance Verification](http://www.payorlogic.com/insurance-verifier/)** – Ensure first claim adjudication—everytime
5. **[Prior Authorization](http://www.payorlogic.com/prior-authorization/)** – Determine reimbursement requirements

For details about self-pay receivables and how to set a new A/R strategy, request a demo [here.](https://www.zolldata.com/demo-request-for-ems-fire-software)

[View full post](https://www.boostyourar.com/blog/4-reasons-your-self-pay-receivables-underperform.-and-what-to-do-about-it)

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