Case Study: Munson Healthcare achieves $1M+ in additional upfront collections and streamlined billing with Optum's RelayClearance Plus

Streamlining the Patient Billing Process

Munson Healthcare, an eight-hospital nonprofit system in northern Michigan, faced fragmented verification, billing and collections processes—multiple payer logins and passwords, frequent claim rejections as patients changed insurance, and no consistent upfront collection policy. To address this, Munson adopted Optum’s RelayClearance Plus (RelayHealth) and later began using the RelayClearance Estimator module system-wide.

Optum implemented single sign-on, custom work lists and monthly insurance verification through RelayClearance Plus, streamlining workflows (some transactions now 10–20× faster) and enabling upfront charge estimates. The solution reduced rejections and improved collections, delivering more than $1 million in additional upfront revenue in the first year (including nearly $600,000 from pre‑registration) and faster response from Optum’s support team.

Munson Healthcare

Kari Smith

Educator/ Coordinator For Patient Financial Services