Case Study: Mankato Clinic achieves reduced claim denials and faster reimbursements with Optum's RelayAssurance Practice

Mankato Clinic Improving Productivity & Profitability

Mankato Clinic, a physician-owned multi‑specialty practice in Minnesota handling over 390,000 patient visits, more than 500,000 annual claims and $130 million in billings, was struggling with a burdensome claims process that produced routine denials (about 7%), lengthy appeals and payment delays of up to four months. To address these problems the clinic selected Optum and implemented a web‑based claims management solution, RelayAssurance Practice, to catch errors up front and reduce time spent on backend troubleshooting.

Optum’s RelayAssurance Practice allowed Mankato Clinic to build customized edits and front‑end scrubbing that cut claim denials from 7% to under 4%, reduced average claim‑to‑reimbursement time by about 10% (from 22.5 days to just over 20 days), and sped Medicaid payments by 2–4 weeks. The system also uncovered $35,000 in previously under‑billed Medicare codes, improved staff productivity and morale, and delivered an immediate return on investment for Optum’s solution.

Mankato Clinic

Debra Addis

Director of Revenue Management