The Garden of Claims: Why Your Insurance Aging Report is the Truth-Teller of Your Practice

4 hours ago
3 min read

An Insurance Aging Report can be seen as a garden of claims. Tend them and they will grow!

Ever feel like your practice’s billing is a bit of a mystery? You submit your claims, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. But then... silence. No check, no deposit—just a line item on a spreadsheet that gets older and older every single day. If that sounds familiar, you aren’t alone.

It’s easy to focus on seeing patients because that’s what you’re good at. But when the money doesn't show up, it can feel like you’re stuck in a mess with very little hope. To fix it, we need to demystify the single most intimidating territory of the revenue cycle: Aging Follow-up.

The Truth About Your Garden

Spreadsheets can be dry, so let’s use a visual. I want you to think of your aging report like a garden.

When you submit a claim, you’re planting a seed. In a perfect world, that seed gets water and sunlight, the insurance company processes it, and it blooms into a beautiful flower made of money. But your aging report tells you the truth about what’s actually happening out there. It shows you which plants are growing, which are withering, and which ones are being choked out by weeds.

Understanding the Insurance Aging Report "Buckets"

Your insurance aging report isn't just a random list; it’s usually organized into timeframes, or "buckets." Understanding these is the key to triaging your garden:

0–30 Days (The Fresh Seeds): These are usually just processing. You don't need to panic here; the check is likely in the mail or moving through the ether.
31–60 Days (The Yellow Flag): Something might be stalling. Maybe the payer lost a claim or a robot ate it. You need to use some discernment here to see if it’s a real problem.
90–120+ Days (The Danger Zone): These claims need immediate attention. In the billing world, time is your enemy. Claims don't get better with age—they rot.

Why You Can’t Ignore the Weeds

The insurance company’s favorite rule is timely filing. They have it framed on the wall in the break room. If a claim sits in that 90+ day bucket too long, it doesn’t just stay unpaid—it dies. Eventually, you lose the right to collect that money entirely, and the insurance company essentially thanks you for the "free therapy."

Stop Hiding in the Sand

I know so many clinicians who see that 90-day bucket growing and just... freeze. It feels like a "report card of failure," so they put it in a "box of shame" and try to forget about it.

If that’s you, take a deep breath and stop. That report isn't a reflection of your worth; it’s just data. Think of it like dirty laundry. You don’t cry when you see a pile of clothes; you just put them into a cycle and tackle them one piece at a time.

Follow-Up Actions to Take:

[ ] Run your aging report today. Don't judge it or panic—just look at it.
[ ] Identify your buckets. See how much of your hard-earned revenue is sitting in the 60, 90, and 120+ day categories.
[ ] Pick one payer to call this week. Just one. Start clearing out the oldest "weeds" in your garden and see how much better you feel.