If you are a practice manager deciding whether to purchase a billing software and hire a team to manage it, or outsource the entire revenue cycle to a managed provider, you can keep reading this, because this is for you. This article discusses MedCare MSO vs AdvancedMD, which one to choose and why? AdvancedMD sells both: software for in-house billing teams and managed billing services. This read compares the software path with the MedCare MSO’s managed RCM services. The debate of AdvancedMD vs MedCare MSO will revolve around four axes i.e. cost, staffing burden, control, and how difficult is the exit.
Send us your current software subscription, staffing costs, and last quarter's collections. We'll return a side-by-side showing what the in-house path costs you today against a managed RCM model, no commitment.
MedCare MSO vs AdvancedMD at a Glance
MedCare MSO
Best for practices that want billing handled, not hosted
AdvancedMD
Best for practices with an established in-house billing team
When a practice buys a software, AdvancedMD in this case, it gets the responsibility of running everything on it. The practice buys the licenses of the software and owns every decision in the process. Who verifies eligibility, who follows up on claims, who manages claim denials, who codes, everything is decided by the practice. Let’s describe AdvancedMD here which is very important. It was founded in 1999, based in South Jordan, Utah. AdvancedMD is a cloud-native platform that helps practices unify EHR, practice management, patient engagement, and payments in one place. Since December 2024, AdvancedMD has been owned by Francisco Partners, which acquired it from Global Payments for $1.125 billion. Many published reviews still name the earlier owner.
What if practice outsources the revenue cycle to an external team of experts and just oversees instead of operation. The responsibilities are mirrored here. The vendor supplies the coders and billers, adheres to the payer’s rules, manages claim denials, and reports back to the practice. The medical practice does not run this process but just keeps a vigilant eye on the reporting. The software part becomes secondary in this case because a managed provider either uses the existing one or brings its own software. Both paths lead to a successful RCM process and practices can succeed on either one.
Let’s have a look at managed RCM services vs AdvancedMD and check a side-by-side comparison.
| Aspect | AdvancedMD (in-house software path) | MedCare MSO (managed RCM) |
|---|---|---|
| What you're buying | A cloud PM/EHR/billing platform; your team runs the cycle | An external team that runs the cycle |
| Who does the billing | Your staff | MedCare's billers and coders |
| Software requirement | AdvancedMD platform | Software-agnostic — works in your existing system |
| Pricing model | Subscription (software plans; RCM available at 4–8% of collections) | Percentage of collections |
| Up-front costs | Implementation, training, data migration, add-on modules | Terms decided while onboarding |
| Staffing burden | Hiring, training, coverage, turnover is yours | Vendor's |
| Control | Direct, process-level | Oversight via reporting; process is the vendor's |
| Exit | Platform migration if you leave the software | Exit terms are mutually decided |
| Best for | Practices with an experienced, stable in-house team wanting control | Practices without the team, or tired of rebuilding it |
Most practice managers know after reading the table. Some don't, because their situation sits in the middle: a good biller who might leave, volume that's growing but not there yet. We'll walk through the four decision questions with you on your own numbers, no commitment.
Book a Free Billing AssessmentThe cost comparison is crucial before making a decision and most practices do this calculation incorrectly. The outsourcing percentage is compared with the cost by most practices, that’s it, which is not the right way. But the real comparison is calculating the total cost of the billing and the subscription altogether. Comparing this cost with the entire cost of the managed RCM path. This gives the actual comparison.
Is there any cost other than subscription? This is an essential part before making a purchase decision. Implementation fee, training fee, data migration, add-on modules, these things are separately sold. Annual renewal fee increases, for instance, are often overlooked while calculating the cost. The second part: salaries of the staff and the time spent on training. If an experienced biller leaves, the knowledge about the payer’s rule leaves with the resource. Finding the replacement and training is a part of the cost. The software is a tool but the practice pays the people using the software.
The AdvancedMD software plans are sold by module. If you want to purchase a behavioral health plan, for instance, it starts around $130 a month. They offer managed RCM services at 4 to 8% of monthly collections based on the size of the medical practice, specialty, and complexity. A sales conversation will show the exact price that practice has to bear. One thing that is important to mention here: the 4-8% option for the medical practices exists because many practices that opt for AdvancedMD and purchase the software decide to hire their RCM services. So, practices think it is better not to manage the billing themselves.
MedCare MSO has a pricing model that is based on the percentage of collections. This is not a fixed percentage but depends on various factors. Primarily, it depends on what medical practices are collecting, overall. The pricing part of MedCare MSO is not stringent and we end at a win-win situation in a sales conversation where medical practices get the best possible solution. Above all, the percentage MedCare charges cover the staffing risk, when the biller leaves, it is replaced by the vendor in this case.
The in-house billing teams are often smaller in size, two to three people. If the best resource leaves, there is a need to hire and train a new resource. It adds the cost and an administrative headache. The knowledge of the payer mix also goes with the biller that leaves, so the replacement may take weeks to get aligned. During this period, the claims are stalled and the denial management system comes to halt. It may increase the A/R as the denial windows keep running.
What outsourcing billing to experts change? Medical practice is free from administrative stress. The vendor has a team and it is the one who manages the claim submission process. All the workload related to recruitment, training, and retaining individuals lie with the vendor. In the same way, claims submission processes of medical practices are managed by expert coders that have specialty-specific knowledge. Also, practices that are finding an AdvancedMD billing services alternative can make a better decision.
Outsourcing your RCM to MedCare MSO helps practices to get AI-powered medical billing services and work with specialty-specific staff. The presence of MedCare MSO in the healthcare industry for more than a decade shows their experience and how they are empowering practices with billing solutions. The lock-in consequence of AdvancedMD is point to ponder here. What if a practice buys the AdvancedMD software and decides in-house billing is not working later? There are two scenarios that can occur. Practices choose the managed RCM service from AdvancedMD. This is the easy way out. Second scenario: migrating to the other software and leaving AdvancedMD.
The decision to buy software and keep the team is a better decision for certain kinds of medical practice. Here are some conditions when the in-house software is the right choice:
MedCare MSO vs AdvancedMD comparison comes to a point where the decision questions can help practice managers make the best decision. Do you have a billing manager who is not leaving the practice? If yes, you can go with the software path and do not go with the outsourcing option. Is the claim volume of your practice enough to keep the full-time biller busy? If yes, you can stick with the in-house process. Do you want to control the process or the outcome? If you want to run the entire revenue cycle yourself, in-house teams are a better idea otherwise opt for outsourcing medical billing services to experts.
Is AdvancedMD good for medical billing?
Yes. AdvancedMD is a mature, cloud-based platform that integrates practice management, EHR, patient engagement, and billing in one system, and it has been serving practices since 1999. For a practice with an experienced in-house billing team that intends to run its own revenue cycle, it is a strong choice. The question this article addresses is not whether the software is good, but whether a practice wants to run billing on it themselves or hand the work to a managed provider and that depends on the practice's staffing, volume, and appetite for process control, not on the software.
How to eliminate medical billing staff turnover?
You cannot eliminate it, but you can decide who carries it. Outsourcing to a professional RCM company helps reduce the risks associated with turnover. When someone from the in-house team leaves, the work halts and the claims cannot wait to be submitted. Also denials can be reworked in a specific window. So, outsourcing helps you avoid this stress. Working with an RCM vendor, you only get the reports and the rest of the work is done by the company.
Should medical practices outsource billing or use software?
There are various factors that decide this, we will discuss them briefly. If your practice has a billing expert and he plans not to leave anytime soon, you can prefer in-house billing software. In the same way, if your claim volume is fairly large and the billing team is managing efficiently, outsourcing will increase the cost instead of lowering it. Also, if you want to own the entire RCM process, go with the software, if outcomes is your preference, opt for outsourcing. Lastly, if you have a complex payer mix and own a multi-specialty practice, outsourcing is a better option as you get a chance to work with specialty-specific practices.
What are the hidden costs of in-house medical billing software?
Other than subscriptions, there are some hidden costs like implementation fee and training fee. LIkewise, data migration and add-on modules. Annual prices of renewals may increase. Secondly, salaries of the billing staff and training these resources. If someone leaves the practice, the knowledge also leaves and the time taken to find replacement adds costs in the form of aging AR and the claims that are not being submitted during the turnover.
Book a demo and walk through the three decision questions on your own numbers — your billing lead, your volume, your exit options.
Request a DemoFree Revenue Audit
Losing revenue to denials?
Let's find it — free.
See exactly where your practice is leaking revenue. We review 90 days of claims, denials, and aged A/R at no cost.
Request Your Free Demo
🔒 HIPAA-secure. Your information is never shared.
