Hospitals and medical practices faced slower payment processing from insurers in 2024 compared to 2023 even as prior authorization denial rates fell, according to new revenue cycle data from Kodiak Solutions.
The data was derived from more than 2,100 hospitals and 300,000 physicians.
Five notes:
1. Providers collected about $3 less in 2024 for every $100 dollars that insured patients owed on their portion of medical bills.
2. The initial denial rate on claims in 2024 increased 2.4% to 11.81%.
3. The initial denial rate increased even as providers cut the rate of initial denials related to prior authorization issues by 7.7% in 2024. Denials related to questions of medical necessity and requests for more information made up the difference, with rates for both categories increasing by 5% and 5.4%, respectively.
4. True accounts receivable days increased 5.2% year-over-year.
5. Providers collected 34.5% of amounts owed by insured patients, down from 2023’s self-pay rate for insured patients of 37.6%.
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