Back in November, we talked about the importance of tightening revenue cycle operations before the calendar year-end. But for hospitals operating on a June fiscal year, the most important checkpoint happens now—the final 60 days before fiscal year-end.
This period is critical. It’s when teams must close gaps, accelerate cash flow, mitigate denial exposure, and ensure key performance indicators are trending toward year-end targets. With rising costs, payer pressure, and increasing administrative complexity, fiscal year-end preparation requires deliberate and focused action.
Below, we break down what RCM teams should prioritize in the last stretch of the fiscal year—and the major industry trends that will influence performance in the months ahead.
Contact Revco to see how we can help you prepare.
Table of Contents
What RCM Leaders Should Prioritize in the Last 60 Days of the Fiscal Year
The final days of the fiscal year are less about broad strategy and more about execution. This is the window where focused prioritization, rapid issue resolution, and disciplined follow-through have the greatest impact on year-end results. RCM leaders should concentrate on the areas that directly influence cash acceleration, risk reduction, and reporting accuracy—ensuring teams, technology, and payer workflows are aligned to close the year with minimal leakage and maximum visibility into performance.
1. Clean Up Accounts Receivable (AR)
As fiscal year-end approaches, tightening AR is essential for financial reporting accuracy and cash flow performance.
Focus on:
- Prioritizing aging AR and high-dollar accounts
- Accelerating follow-up on claims approaching timely filing limits
- Ensuring accurate charge capture and complete documentation
- Troubleshooting backlogs that could spill into next year
A targeted AR sprint during this window can materially improve year-end metrics.
2. Conduct a Coding & Charge Capture Audit
Accuracy is especially important leading into fiscal year-end, both for compliance and revenue integrity.
Key actions:
- Review coding accuracy and modifier usage, especially for high-risk areas.
- Validate documentation for medical necessity.
- Spot check for missed charges during periods of high volume or staffing shortages.
- Review service lines with historically high denial rates (e.g., observation, short stays, E/M levels).
Even small corrections at this stage can meaningfully improve reimbursement before the fiscal year closes.
Want to hear what other revenue cycle executives are doing within their organizations to maximize cash recovery and improve the patient financial experience? Check out the Revenue Roundtable, an executive interview series where leasers share real-world insight into operations, tech, partnerships, and the patient experience.
3. Strengthen Denial Prevention & Payer Collaboration
Denials typically increase during periods of high claim volume.
Your priorities should include:
- Submitting all claims cleanly and promptly to avoid crossing into the next fiscal year.
- Monitoring payer policy updates and applying edits or overrides immediately.
- Reviewing denial trends and closing front-end gaps quickly.
- Maintaining monthly payer touchpoints—with operational leaders present—to address outliers, delays, and root causes.
Contract reviews during this window should include underpayment analysis and identification of high-value appeals to complete before year-end.
4. Optimize Patient Financial Engagement & Collections
Patients continue to bear a growing share of healthcare costs, making patient financial engagement a core revenue lever.
In the final 60 days:
- Review the effectiveness of statements, scripts, and digital engagement.
- Identify patient balances with the highest likelihood of resolution before fiscal year-end.
- Ensure the call center is aligned on messaging and patient responsibility.
- Meet with call center leadership to review top call drivers—an early indicator of operational issues.
Clear communication and simple payment options can meaningfully impact year-end self-pay performance.
5. Evaluate Workforce, Technology & Operational Processes
Fiscal year-end is a natural point to assess how well your operational infrastructure supports revenue cycle goals.
Review:
- Staffing models and burnout risk
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- Workflow bottlenecks preventing timely resolution
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- Where automation or AI can replace manual work
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- Vendor performance and technology utilization
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Ensure IT-supported automation initiatives remain prioritized. Delays increase costs and slow AR performance, making it harder to hit end-of-year targets.
6. Refresh Budgeting & Forecast Projections for the Next Fiscal Cycle
The last 60 days offer the most accurate picture of how the current fiscal year will close, making this the ideal time to update projections.
Use this period to:
- Refresh forecasts for days in AR, denial rate, net collection rate, and self-pay bad debt.
- Build scenario plans for reimbursement shifts, payer mix changes, and increased patient responsibility.
- Identify investments needed to support automation, analytics, and patient experience initiatives.
- Align these projections with executive leadership before fiscal year-end planning intensifies.
Conclusion
Hospitals have a crucial opportunity to strengthen cash flow, reduce denials, and close performance gaps before starting a new year. By focusing on AR, denial prevention, coding accuracy, payer relationships, patient engagement, and operational readiness, RCM leaders can position their organizations for a strong year-end and a more resilient fiscal cycle ahead.
Revco Solutions is here to support your team through the final stretch—helping you optimize performance before fiscal year-end and build momentum for the months that follow.
Let’s connect to discuss how your organization can close out your fiscal year strong.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can RCM teams effectively prioritize accounts receivable (AR) in the final 60 days to accelerate cash flow and improve year-end reporting accuracy?
Focus on aging AR, high-dollar accounts, and claims nearing timely filing limits. Segment by payer and balance to target the highest-impact opportunities. Accelerate follow-up, resolve documentation gaps, and clear backlogs to improve cash flow, days in AR, and reporting accuracy before year-end.
2. What steps should organizations take to strengthen denial prevention and reduce revenue leakage during periods of high claim volume?
Prevent denials by ensuring clean claim submission, accurate coding, and complete medical necessity documentation. Monitor payer policy updates, track denial trends, and fix front-end issues quickly. Prioritize high-risk service lines and complete high-value appeals to reduce denial exposure and protect revenue.
3. How can RCM leaders align operational execution with forecasting and budgeting for the next fiscal cycle without compromising year-end performance?
Track and refresh projections for days in AR, denial rate, net collection rate, and self-pay bad debt. Use this data to align execution with year-end targets, improve forecast accuracy, and guide budgeting for the next fiscal cycle.
