{"id":30649,"date":"2026-07-03T18:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/?p=30649"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:20:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:50:48","slug":"old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/","title":{"rendered":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics<\/strong> is the process of auditing, appealing, and collecting orthopedic claims that have aged past 60, 90, or 120 days because of NCCI bundling edits, missing modifiers, or global period errors, before they cross the payer’s timely filing deadline and become permanently uncollectible.<\/p>\r\n

For a busy orthopedic group, this backlog isn’t paperwork sitting quietly in a drawer. It’s real revenue, often five to six figures, trapped in accounts receivable because standard billing teams are too focused on today’s claims to go back and fight for yesterday’s.<\/p>\r\n

Why Orthopedic AR Ages Faster Than Other Specialties<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Orthopedic claims carry more built-in failure points than almost any other specialty. Most major procedures, including total knee and hip arthroplasty, ACL reconstruction, and spinal fusion, fall under a 90-day global surgery package.<\/p>\r\n

Any visit or procedure billed inside that window without the correct modifier \u2014 24 for unrelated E\/M, 25 for a significant separately identifiable service, 58 for a staged procedure, or 59 for a distinct procedural service \u2014 gets bundled and denied automatically.<\/p>\r\n

Add arthroscopic and open surgical combinations, and the risk multiplies further. CMS updated its National Correct Coding Initiative Policy Manual for 2026 with additional bundling restrictions specific to musculoskeletal procedures, which means edit pairs that cleared in 2025 may now deny outright.<\/p>\r\n

Industry audits show that close to 18% of orthopedic surgical claim denials trace back to bundling and modifier errors alone. A single total knee replacement can carry $11,000 to $30,000 in allowed charges, so a handful of misapplied modifiers each month is enough to build a serious backlog by mid-year.<\/p>\r\n

How Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics Actually Works<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics starts with a full audit of every claim sitting past 60 days, sorted by payer, denial reason, dollar value, and days remaining before the timely filing deadline expires. That last piece matters most.<\/p>\r\n

Medicare allows 120 days from the date a provider receives the initial determination notice to request a redetermination, and most commercial payers set similarly tight windows for first-level appeals. A claim that looks routine on an aging report can be one missed deadline away from a permanent write-off.<\/p>\r\n

From there, each denied or unpaid claim gets root-cause analysis<\/a> rather than a generic resubmission: was the modifier wrong, was the global period miscalculated, was documentation missing to support medical necessity.<\/p>\r\n

Claims are worked oldest and highest-risk first, not simply oldest first, and appeals are built around the specific payer’s coverage policy rather than a form letter. Practices that hand this work to a dedicated Old AR Recovery Services<\/a> team typically recover 60% to 75% of what sits in the 90-to-120-day bucket, versus letting it age into a write-off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
AR Follow-Up Factor<\/strong><\/td>\r\nStandard In-House Follow-Up<\/strong><\/td>\r\nOld AR Recovery Services<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Claim prioritization<\/strong><\/td>\r\nOldest first, chronological<\/td>\r\nFiling-deadline and dollar-value risk first<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Modifier root-cause review<\/strong><\/td>\r\nRarely revisited once denied<\/td>\r\nEvery denial traced to a specific modifier or edit<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Timely filing tracking<\/strong><\/td>\r\nManual, easy to miss<\/td>\r\nClaim-level deadline monitoring<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Appeal documentation<\/strong><\/td>\r\nGeneric resubmission<\/td>\r\nPayer-specific, coverage-policy backed<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Typical 90-120 day recovery rate<\/strong><\/td>\r\nUnder 20%<\/td>\r\n60% to 75%<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

What Unresolved AR Is Actually Costing Your Practice<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

The numbers add up faster than most administrators expect. Mid-year audits across orthopedic groups show 18% to 24% of AR older than 60 days can still be collected if it’s worked correctly. A healthy orthopedic practice keeps AR beyond 90 days under 10%; the industry median runs 15% to 20%, and anything above 25% signals a follow-up cadence failure.<\/p>\r\n

That gap shows up directly in cash flow. A single missed global period modifier on a monthly batch of post-op visits can cost $15,000 to $40,000 a quarter in uncollected revenue that never even shows up as a denial, it simply never gets billed.<\/p>\r\n

This is where a true revenue integrity partner earns its role: not just processing today’s claims, but treating aged AR as an active recovery function inside your broader Revenue Cycle Management strategy. Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics only works if it’s treated as an ongoing function, not a one-time cleanup.<\/p>\r\n

Choosing the Right Partner for Orthopedic AR Cleanup<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Generic medical billing services rarely allocate staff to aged claims because current volume already fills the day. Effective Orthopedic Billing Services<\/a> assign a separate team to backlog work, one that understands modifier logic, tracks every payer’s appeal window, and can request a peer-to-peer review for medical necessity denials, which converts to an approval 60% to 78% of the time when initiated within 30 days.<\/p>\r\n

If your current medical billing and coding services provider sends a monthly aging report without a plan to work the 90-plus-day bucket, the backlog keeps compounding every quarter. That’s the core of effective Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: recovery as an ongoing discipline, not a one-time cleanup project.<\/p>\r\n

Reviewing MBC’s pricing plans for orthopedic billing services<\/a> can help you compare what a dedicated recovery structure should cost against what your practice is currently losing to write-offs.<\/p>\r\n

Ready to See What’s Recoverable in Your Aging Report?<\/h3>\r\n

Request an AR audit<\/a> and find out exactly how much of your 90-plus-day backlog can still be collected. Call 888-357-3226<\/a> or email info@medicalbillersandcoders.com<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\r\n\r\n
\r\n
Q: What is Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics?<\/strong><\/strong>\r\n

A: It’s the dedicated process of auditing, appealing, and collecting orthopedic claims aged past 60 to 120 days due to bundling edits, modifier errors, or global period mistakes, before timely filing deadlines close the door on payment.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Q: How much orthopedic AR is typically recoverable?<\/strong><\/strong>\r\n

A: Mid-year reviews across orthopedic groups show 18% to 24% of AR older than 60 days is still collectible when it’s properly appealed rather than written off.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Q: What’s the most common cause of orthopedic bundling denials?<\/strong><\/strong>\r\n

A: Missing or incorrect modifiers, especially 25, 59, and 58, during the 90-day global surgery period, along with new NCCI edit<\/a> pairs on arthroscopic and open procedure combinations.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Q: How long do I have to appeal a denied Medicare claim?<\/strong><\/strong>\r\n

A: 120 days from the date you receive the initial determination notice on your Remittance Advice or Medicare Summary Notice.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Q: Should I hire a specialized Old AR Recovery Services team or use my current biller?<\/strong><\/strong>\r\n

A: If your current billing team is focused on new claims, a dedicated recovery team is usually faster, since they prioritize by filing deadline and recovery probability instead of working the aging report in chronological order.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics is the process of auditing, appealing, and collecting orthopedic claims that have aged past 60, 90, or 120 days because of NCCI bundling edits, missing modifiers, or global period errors, before they cross the payer’s timely filing deadline and become permanently uncollectible. For a busy orthopedic group, this backlog isn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[4726,6284,5565,388,385,587],"class_list":["post-30649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-orthopedics-billing-services","tag-old-ar-recovery","tag-old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics","tag-old-ar-recovery-services","tag-orthopedic-billing","tag-orthopedic-billing-services","tag-rcm-services"],"yoast_head":"\nOld AR Recovery in Orthopedics for Revenue Growth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand the importance of Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for maximizing revenue from aging claims due to various errors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understand the importance of Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for maximizing revenue from aging claims due to various errors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medical Billing and RCM Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T12:48:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T12:50:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1148\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"442\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Neel M\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Neel M\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Neel M\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8b7967c6700120a48f2f7e01552d68da\"},\"headline\":\"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T12:48:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T12:50:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1049,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Old AR Recovery\",\"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics\",\"old AR recovery services\",\"Orthopedic Billing\",\"Orthopedic billing services\",\"RCM services\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Orthopedics billing services\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":[\"WebPage\",\"FAQPage\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for Revenue Growth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T12:48:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T12:50:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Understand the importance of Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for maximizing revenue from aging claims due to various errors.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"mainEntity\":[{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082396894\"},{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082444471\"},{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082453360\"},{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082464717\"},{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082474416\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg\",\"width\":1148,\"height\":442,\"caption\":\"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Medical Billing and RCM Blogs\",\"description\":\"Medical Billing and Coding Services in USA\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"MBC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Organization\",\"Place\",\"ProfessionalService\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Medical Billers and Coders\",\"alternateName\":\"MBC\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/MBC-Square-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/MBC-Square-Logo.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Medical Billers and Coders\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"telephone\":[\"888-357-3226\"],\"contactPoint\":{\"@type\":\"ContactPoint\",\"telephone\":\"888-357-3226\",\"email\":\"info@medicalbillersandcoders.com\"},\"email\":\"sales@medicalbillersandcoders.com\",\"faxNumber\":\"888-316-4566\",\"currenciesAccepted\":\"$\",\"openingHoursSpecification\":[{\"@type\":\"OpeningHoursSpecification\",\"dayOfWeek\":[\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\"],\"opens\":\"08:00\",\"closes\":\"17:00\"},{\"@type\":\"OpeningHoursSpecification\",\"dayOfWeek\":[\"Saturday\",\"Sunday\"],\"opens\":\"00:00\",\"closes\":\"00:00\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8b7967c6700120a48f2f7e01552d68da\",\"name\":\"Neel M\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5dc470f0931ac155ccf95cfba3d079665c383cc3337fcf138b81ec5543bcab51?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5dc470f0931ac155ccf95cfba3d079665c383cc3337fcf138b81ec5543bcab51?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5dc470f0931ac155ccf95cfba3d079665c383cc3337fcf138b81ec5543bcab51?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Neel M\"},\"description\":\"With almost 12 years of experience in healthcare revenue cycle management, this Revenue Cycle Specialist brings deep expertise in medical billing, claims optimization, and practice profitability. Shares industry-backed insights focused on improving collections, reducing denials, and driving operational excellence.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/neel-mbc\\\/\"],\"gender\":\"Male\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Revenue Cycle Management\"],\"knowsLanguage\":[\"English\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Revenue Cycle Specialist\"},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082396894\",\"position\":1,\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082396894\",\"name\":\"Q: What is Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics?\",\"answerCount\":1,\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A: It's the dedicated process of auditing, appealing, and collecting orthopedic claims aged past 60 to 120 days due to bundling edits, modifier errors, or global period mistakes, before timely filing deadlines close the door on payment.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082444471\",\"position\":2,\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082444471\",\"name\":\"Q: How much orthopedic AR is typically recoverable?\",\"answerCount\":1,\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A: Mid-year reviews across orthopedic groups show 18% to 24% of AR older than 60 days is still collectible when it's properly appealed rather than written off.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082453360\",\"position\":3,\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082453360\",\"name\":\"Q: What's the most common cause of orthopedic bundling denials?\",\"answerCount\":1,\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A: Missing or incorrect modifiers, especially 25, 59, and 58, during the 90-day global surgery period, along with new NCCI edit pairs on arthroscopic and open procedure combinations.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082464717\",\"position\":4,\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082464717\",\"name\":\"Q: How long do I have to appeal a denied Medicare claim?\",\"answerCount\":1,\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A: 120 days from the date you receive the initial determination notice on your Remittance Advice or Medicare Summary Notice.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082474416\",\"position\":5,\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\\\/blog\\\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\\\/#faq-question-1783082474416\",\"name\":\"Q: Should I hire a specialized Old AR Recovery Services team or use my current biller?\",\"answerCount\":1,\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A: If your current billing team is focused on new claims, a dedicated recovery team is usually faster, since they prioritize by filing deadline and recovery probability instead of working the aging report in chronological order.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for Revenue Growth","description":"Understand the importance of Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for maximizing revenue from aging claims due to various errors.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials","og_description":"Understand the importance of Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for maximizing revenue from aging claims due to various errors.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/","og_site_name":"Medical Billing and RCM Blogs","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T12:48:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-03T12:50:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1148,"height":442,"url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Neel M","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Neel M","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/"},"author":{"name":"Neel M","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8b7967c6700120a48f2f7e01552d68da"},"headline":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials","datePublished":"2026-07-03T12:48:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-03T12:50:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/"},"wordCount":1049,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg","keywords":["Old AR Recovery","Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics","old AR recovery services","Orthopedic Billing","Orthopedic billing services","RCM services"],"articleSection":["Orthopedics billing services"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#organization"}},{"@type":["WebPage","FAQPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/","url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/","name":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for Revenue Growth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-03T12:48:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-03T12:50:48+00:00","description":"Understand the importance of Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics for maximizing revenue from aging claims due to various errors.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#breadcrumb"},"mainEntity":[{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082396894"},{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082444471"},{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082453360"},{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082464717"},{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082474416"}],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics-clearing-the-backlog-created-by-bundling-and-modifier-denials.jpg","width":1148,"height":442,"caption":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics: Clearing the Backlog Created by Bundling and Modifier Denials"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/","name":"Medical Billing and RCM Blogs","description":"Medical Billing and Coding Services in USA","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#organization"},"alternateName":"MBC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Organization","Place","ProfessionalService"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Medical Billers and Coders","alternateName":"MBC","url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MBC-Square-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MBC-Square-Logo.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Medical Billers and Coders"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"telephone":["888-357-3226"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","telephone":"888-357-3226","email":"info@medicalbillersandcoders.com"},"email":"sales@medicalbillersandcoders.com","faxNumber":"888-316-4566","currenciesAccepted":"$","openingHoursSpecification":[{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"],"opens":"08:00","closes":"17:00"},{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Saturday","Sunday"],"opens":"00:00","closes":"00:00"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8b7967c6700120a48f2f7e01552d68da","name":"Neel M","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5dc470f0931ac155ccf95cfba3d079665c383cc3337fcf138b81ec5543bcab51?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5dc470f0931ac155ccf95cfba3d079665c383cc3337fcf138b81ec5543bcab51?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5dc470f0931ac155ccf95cfba3d079665c383cc3337fcf138b81ec5543bcab51?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Neel M"},"description":"With almost 12 years of experience in healthcare revenue cycle management, this Revenue Cycle Specialist brings deep expertise in medical billing, claims optimization, and practice profitability. Shares industry-backed insights focused on improving collections, reducing denials, and driving operational excellence.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/neel-mbc\/"],"gender":"Male","knowsAbout":["Revenue Cycle Management"],"knowsLanguage":["English"],"jobTitle":"Revenue Cycle Specialist"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082396894","position":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082396894","name":"Q: What is Old AR Recovery in Orthopedics?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A: It's the dedicated process of auditing, appealing, and collecting orthopedic claims aged past 60 to 120 days due to bundling edits, modifier errors, or global period mistakes, before timely filing deadlines close the door on payment.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082444471","position":2,"url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082444471","name":"Q: How much orthopedic AR is typically recoverable?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A: Mid-year reviews across orthopedic groups show 18% to 24% of AR older than 60 days is still collectible when it's properly appealed rather than written off.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082453360","position":3,"url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082453360","name":"Q: What's the most common cause of orthopedic bundling denials?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A: Missing or incorrect modifiers, especially 25, 59, and 58, during the 90-day global surgery period, along with new NCCI edit pairs on arthroscopic and open procedure combinations.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082464717","position":4,"url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082464717","name":"Q: How long do I have to appeal a denied Medicare claim?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A: 120 days from the date you receive the initial determination notice on your Remittance Advice or Medicare Summary Notice.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082474416","position":5,"url":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/old-ar-recovery-in-orthopedics\/#faq-question-1783082474416","name":"Q: Should I hire a specialized Old AR Recovery Services team or use my current biller?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A: If your current billing team is focused on new claims, a dedicated recovery team is usually faster, since they prioritize by filing deadline and recovery probability instead of working the aging report in chronological order.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30649"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30657,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30649\/revisions\/30657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}