The Collaborative Credit Balance Solution

Credit balances are out of control. The only lasting remedy is collaboration; bringing payers and providers together to solve/prevent credits for good. And it’s finally possible with TREND.

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payer considerations

By collaborating with healthcare providers, payers can more effectively recover and reduce overpayments.

$30M

Total amount a large health system can generate in new credit balances annually

$5M

Amount an average sized provider can generate annually in new credit balances

90 Days

Average age of unworked credit balance accounts

$0

Up front cost to you. 100% risk free, contingency fee based on actual recoveries
We work your credit balances for you, so that you can reallocate your people to cash generating activities. Our flexible model allows us to supplement your denial management team when, where, and as you need it. TREND’s modules analyze insurance paid claims data, COB primacy & transactional data to produce optimal outcomes for our customers.

Credit Balance Recovery

Credit balance recovery is a critical component of a mature payment integrity program at any payer. The identification of the claim overpayment occurs outside of the paid claims and eligibility data within the payer’s environment and inside provider data sets. 85-90% of all credit balance overpayments are not identified by the payer’s internal or vendor programs, thus credit balance recovery programs are the perfect supplement to any mature payment integrity program.
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Provider considerations

Through our collaborative approach, healthcare providers can resolve and prevent credits like never before.

Credit balances are costing you time and money and they don’t generate cash, but they have to be worked. TREND operates as an extension of your business office, leveraging TREND Connect to accurately & efficiently resolve credit balances.
Accurately Identify True Overpayments → Reduce Administrative Load → Prevent Future Credits → Realize More Revenue → Protect Compliance

Credit Balances Impact on Healthcare Providers

Simply put, credit balances are a huge burden on healthcare providers. They strain resources and cash flow, all while increasing costs and risk. They must be resolved, but the status quo isn’t cutting it.

  • Cash Flow Disruption
  • Over-Refunding
  • Increased Administrative Burden
  • Compliance Risks
  • Delayed Revenue Recognition

Why Use TREND for Credit Balance Resolution?

TREND can ease the burden of credits by delivering a configurable Credit Balance Resolution strategy and comprehensive reporting package that is unique to your facility.
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Reduce Costs / Reallocate Staff

The average health system spends millions of dollars annually managing credit balances.
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Increase Net Revenue

75%-80% of credits are adjustment errors and missed postings, not true overpayments.
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Improve Contract Compliance

The remaining 20%-25% of credit balances are overpayments due back to payers and patients.

We work all credit balances, not just overpayments, and recover on behalf of our insurance payer clients as an extension of your business office. Our recovery analysts take ownership of their assigned accounts to bring them to an accurate and efficient resolution, as we maximize our value to you. You control the process. We ensure it is done efficiently and accurately.

Credit Balances Resolution is typically done at no cost to healthcare providers.

5+

Average years of credit balance resolution experience for a TREND recovery analyst

30%

Average percentage of credit balances resolved via overpayment refund

100

Average number of accounts worked per day by TREND recovery analysts

$0

Upfront cost

100%

Risk free, contingency free

TREND has offloaded 165 FTE’s workload from providers, which could generate $570M in additional collections.

How It Works

1. Ingest Credit Balance Data

TREND Connect ingests credit balance data from the provider's patient accounting system.

2. Analyze Credit Balances

TREND Connect analyzes credit balances to determine which are true overpayments vs. adjustment errors or mis-postings.

3. Validate Findings

TREND analyst validates findings in TREND Connect and resolves errors in the provider's system.

5. TREND Connect Resolution

If approved by the provider, the payer reviews and approves or denies overpayments in TREND Connect. If they both approve, TREND Connect processes refunds / retractions of overpayments.

4. Provider Review

Provider reviews and approves / denies overpayments in TREND Connect, with ability to automate based on provider preferences.

Improving Outcomes With the First Credit Balance Solution That Brings Payers & Providers Together

Healthcare’s one-sided approach to credit balances in medical billing is making the problem worse. Backlogs are growing, teams are burnt out, and payers/providers are at odds.

Z

Providers Process Fewer Refunds

Through process improvement and root cause prevention, healthcare providers greatly reduce their volume of credits and refunds out the door.
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Payers Stop Overpaying

By improving payment integrity, payers stop overpaying; meaning fewer resources are spent recouping dollars.

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Healthcare Is More Efficient

When every dollar goes to its rightful owner and payers/providers call a truce on their never-ending game of tug of war, healthcare costs go down.

The Problem

Credit Balances Are a Drain on Healthcare

Credit balances in medical billing are a costly reality that healthcare professionals see as “part of the job.” But operating under this paradigm has severe negative consequences.

Increased CostsE
Administrative BurdenE
Contentious Payer/Provider RelationsE
Misallocated ResourcesE
Negative Patient ExperienceE

Credit balances increase the cost of healthcare.

The time and resources improperly allocated to managing credit balances contribute substantially to the overall cost burden on the healthcare system. Inefficiencies caused by credit balances lead to higher operational costs for providers and payers alike, potentially resulting in increased service costs and higher co-pays, deductibles, or out-of-pocket expenses for patients.

Credit balances worsen the administrative burden on both payers and providers.

Identifying, investigating, and resolving credit balances require significant administrative resources from both payers and providers.

Credit balances damage payer-provider relationships.

Credit balances introduce financial discrepancies, increase administrative burdens, and foster mistrust; complicating contractual negotiations, creating operational inefficiencies, and deteriorating collaboration. To maintain strong relationships, payers and providers must address credit balances proactively, together.

Credit balances take your staff away from higher-impact activities.

Credit balances must be worked, but they require substantial resources and don’t generate revenue. TREND eases this burden by delivering a comprehensive credit balance solution so you can reallocate internal resources.

Credit balances negatively impact the patient experience.

Credit balances sometimes lead to billing issues that affect patients directly. And when patients are caught in the middle, it can damage both the provider’s and the payer’s reputation.

Credits Must Be Solved, and the Status Quo Isn’t Cutting It

If we continue approaching credits the way we always have, the problem is here to stay. The only way forward is collaboration, shifting our paradigm as healthcare professionals and charting a new course.

75%

of credit balances are NOT the result of an overpayment

$35B+

in new credits are generated annually by healthcare providers

Other Vendors Choose Sides, We Choose Collaboration

Some vendors work exclusively on behalf of payers, some exclusively on behalf of providers.

This creates an unwinnable, never ending game of tug-of-war.

This kind of one-sided advocacy does little more than drive up costs and worsen outcomes for payers and providers alike.

The solution? To play on the same team, collaborating to extinguish the growing credit balance problem.

The Unified Credit Balance for Medical Billing Process

TREND operates as an extension of both payer and provider teams, working credit balances for you so that you can reallocate your people to cash-generating activities. Our proprietary technology, TREND Connect, allows for accurate and transparent resolution of credits.
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Ingest Data

TREND ingests data from both payer and provider systems.
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Identify & Validate

TREND analyzes credits and identifies true overpayments.
9

Connect

Payers and providers collaborate on TREND Connect.
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Resolve & Refund

If approved by provider and payer, refunds and retractions are proce
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Report & Prevent

TREND delivers root cause reporting and analytics.

Team Payer vs. Team Provider

Team Healthcare

With TREND, payers and providers both win! By addressing the root causes of credit balances, healthcare can finally operate as a united front. TREND doesn’t play for “team provider” or “team payer,” we play for Team Healthcare.

1.9M

Credits Resolved

$1B+

Overpayments Identified

190

FTEs Offloaded

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TREND’s agility to be able to ingest the data we provide was a very amenable process. Their technology folks are very in tune with being able to take the data and consume it. It was a combination of talent on staff to take the convoluted big sets of data and understand it, and be able to provide value, and execute via their relationships in the marketplace.

5
Payer #2
MULTI-STATE BCBS PLAN CREDIT BALANCE

Technology

Powered by TREND Connectâ„¢

TREND Connect is the unified platform that enables true collaboration between providers and payers.

The platform allows healthcare providers to electronically submit self-reported overpayments back to connected insurance payers.

Claim details, applicable documentation, and specific recovery explanations are sent directly to adjusters for review and reconciliation.

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Slash Labor Costs

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Create an accurate audit trail

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Comprehensive reporting

Payment Integrity

When Correct Payments Are Made, Credit Balances Disappear

More accurate payments reduce the need for refunds, reconciliations, and administrative corrections. As a result, credit balances are prevented and financial operations are streamlined.

RESOURCES

Navigating Credit Balance Complexities in Healthcare

Contract Vigilance: Valerie Thompson’s Strategy

Valerie Thompson, VP of Credit Balance Operations unpacks the challenges of false credit resolutions due to contract variances—a significant drain on resources.