For healthcare providers struggling with unpaid patient balances and revenue cycle challenges, finding the right partner to manage accounts receivable can make a significant difference in financial health. Wakefield and Associates has established itself as one of the largest healthcare revenue cycle management companies in the United States, serving thousands of medical providers across the country. This comprehensive guide explores everything you need to know about this established company and how they serve the healthcare industry.
What is Wakefield and Associates?
Wakefield and Associates operates as a comprehensive revenue cycle management firm specializing exclusively in the healthcare sector. The company provides end-to-end solutions for medical providers, from insurance billing and claims management to debt collection and accounts receivable optimization.
The company has a long and somewhat complex history with conflicting founding dates in various sources. While some records indicate the company was established in 1933, others cite 1946 as the founding year, and still others reference 1982. Regardless of the exact founding date, Wakefield has operated in the healthcare financial services space for decades, evolving from a traditional collection agency into a full-service revenue cycle management platform.
In 2025, Wakefield merged with Revco Solutions in a strategic combination that created one of the nation's largest healthcare RCM companies. Following the merger, the combined entity now operates under the Revco Solutions name, though Wakefield continues to maintain its brand recognition and service offerings within the merged organization.
Company Headquarters and Multiple Locations
Wakefield operates from multiple locations across the United States to serve healthcare providers nationwide. The company maintains 18 different locations, though their primary headquarters have been consistently identified in two key cities.
Primary Headquarters:7005 Middlebrook PikeKnoxville, TN 37909
Additional Major Office:3033 S Parker Road, Suite 1010Aurora, CO 80014
Customer Service Phone Number: (800) 264-9399
The Aurora, Colorado location previously served as another headquarters address and remains a significant operational center for the company. Wakefield also maintains offices in Fort Morgan, Colorado, and various other states where they hold collection agency licenses.
For healthcare providers interested in partnering with the company, their main website is www.wakeassoc.com, which now redirects to the merged Revco Solutions platform. Patients looking to pay medical bills or dispute accounts can access payment portals and dispute processes through www.paywakefield.com.
Operating Hours:Monday through Thursday: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PMFriday: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PMSaturday: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM (select locations)Sunday: Closed
Leadership and Company Structure
Wakefield has been led by Matt Laws, who served as CEO prior to the merger with Revco Solutions. Following the merger, Laws transitioned to the role of Chairman of the Board, providing strategic guidance to the combined organization. Mark Schabel, previously CEO of Revco Solutions, continues to lead the merged entity as Chief Executive Officer.
The company employs approximately 196 people across its various locations, according to some sources, though employee counts vary depending on the timeframe and whether contract workers are included. The organization is structured as a privately held company with private equity backing. M-One Capital previously invested in the company, providing growth capital to support acquisitions and expansion efforts.
Ryan Boettcher serves as Vice President of Operations, overseeing day-to-day collection activities and ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations. The company has added several key executives in recent years, including Mark Schanck as Chief Revenue Officer, Joseph Partain in an executive attorney role, Chuck Koch as Chief Information Officer, and Mitch Moody joining from RealPage to lead technology development.
Core Services and Revenue Cycle Solutions
Wakefield positions itself as more than just a collection agency, offering what they describe as a comprehensive revenue cycle management platform. Their service offerings span the entire continuum of healthcare billing and collections.
System Conversions and Workflow Design
Wakefield helps healthcare providers transition between different practice management systems and electronic health record platforms. They design customized workflows that integrate with systems like Epic, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, Cerner, and McKesson to streamline billing processes from the point of service through final payment.
Insurance Billing and Claims Management
The company manages primary and secondary insurance billing, handling the complex submission and follow-up processes required to maximize reimbursement from insurance payers. This includes identifying underpayments, filing appeals, and pursuing additional payments when initial claim reimbursements fall short of contracted rates.
Out-of-Network Collections
Through their acquisition of Collect Rx in 2022, Wakefield significantly expanded their capabilities in handling out-of-network claims. This service helps healthcare providers negotiate fair payment from insurance companies when patients receive care from providers not in their insurance network. The specialized team uses proprietary databases and appeals expertise to maximize recovery on complex OON claims.
Eligibility Assistance Programs
Wakefield assists healthcare providers in helping patients access financial assistance programs, charity care, and government benefit programs that might cover their medical expenses. By identifying patients who qualify for various assistance programs before accounts become delinquent, this proactive approach can reduce bad debt while ensuring patients receive the help they need.
Early Out Self-Pay Collections
For patient balances that remain unpaid after insurance processing, Wakefield offers early-stage collection services designed to recover funds quickly while maintaining positive patient relationships. This service focuses on the critical first 60 to 90 days after a balance becomes due, when recovery rates are highest.
Bad Debt Collections
When accounts age beyond early intervention stages, Wakefield engages in traditional third-party debt collection activities. Similar to how medical debt collection agencies work to recover unpaid patient balances, Wakefield employs trained collectors who contact patients through letters, phone calls, and other communication methods to arrange payment.
The company operates on a contingency-based model for most collection accounts, meaning healthcare providers only pay fees when debt is successfully recovered. This no-recovery-no-fee structure aligns incentives between the collection agency and the healthcare provider.
Legal Solutions and Attorney Services
For accounts that require legal intervention, Wakefield coordinates with attorney networks to pursue judgments against patients who have significant outstanding balances and the financial means to pay. The company's legal solutions department evaluates accounts for legal viability and oversees the litigation process when necessary.
Call Center Partnerships
Wakefield can serve as an outsourced call center for healthcare providers, handling inbound patient billing inquiries and outbound collection calls. This allows medical practices to focus staff attention on patient care rather than billing questions and payment negotiations.
Industries and Specialties Served
While Wakefield focuses exclusively on the healthcare sector, they serve a diverse range of medical specialties and facility types within the industry.
The company works extensively with hospitals and health systems, including both large multi-facility networks and smaller community hospitals. Hospital accounts can be particularly complex due to the variety of services provided, multiple insurance payers involved, and the high dollar amounts often associated with inpatient stays and emergency department visits.
Ambulatory surgery centers benefit from Wakefield's specialized understanding of ASC billing challenges, including prior authorization requirements and the complexity of surgical procedure coding. The company helps these facilities maximize revenue while maintaining steady cash flow despite the episodic nature of surgical care.
Medical practices of all sizes partner with Wakefield, from solo practitioners to large physician groups spanning multiple specialties. The company serves general healthcare practices as well as specialized areas including behavioral health services, pediatrics, radiology, orthopedics, rehabilitation centers, imaging centers, laboratories, and assisted living facilities.
Emergency physician groups represent another significant client category, as emergency department accounts often involve uninsured patients, out-of-network billing situations, and the challenge of collecting from patients who received unexpected care.
Technology and Integration Capabilities
Wakefield invests significantly in technology infrastructure to provide automated workflows and sophisticated analytics to their healthcare clients. Their proprietary systems integrate with major property management software platforms used throughout the healthcare industry.
The company's automated workflow technology identifies exceptions in claim encounters, flagging accounts that require special attention or manual review. This reduces human error and ensures that accounts don't fall through the cracks during the billing and collection process.
Analytics capabilities allow healthcare providers to track key performance indicators across their revenue cycle, including days in accounts receivable, collection rates by payer type, denial rates, and appeal success rates. These insights help identify problem areas and opportunities for process improvement.
Data security represents a critical focus area for any company handling protected health information. Wakefield maintains HIPAA-compliant systems and follows strict data security protocols to protect sensitive patient information throughout the collection process. The company experienced a data breach in 2022 that exposed sensitive information including Social Security numbers and health records, highlighting the ongoing cybersecurity challenges faced by healthcare RCM companies.
Recent Acquisitions and Growth
Wakefield has pursued an aggressive growth-through-acquisition strategy in recent years, expanding both their geographic reach and service capabilities through strategic purchases.
In September 2022, the company acquired Collect Rx, adding specialized out-of-network claims expertise. This acquisition brought proprietary databases and appeals capabilities that serve over 5,400 healthcare companies across the country.
Just one month later in October 2022, Wakefield acquired the debt collection business of Choice Recovery, an Ohio-based nationally recognized collections company. This purchase expanded Wakefield's presence in the Midwest and added experienced collection staff to their team.
In January 2023, Healthcare Receivables Group joined the Wakefield organization. Founded in 1993, HRG brought additional accounts receivable management capabilities and an established client base in healthcare provider partnerships.
Most significantly, in 2025, Wakefield merged with Revco Solutions to create what the companies describe as one of the nation's largest and most innovative healthcare RCM firms. This merger combined the strengths of both organizations, expanded service offerings, and created greater resources to drive financial performance for healthcare clients.
Consumer Complaints and Company Reputation
Like many debt collection agencies, Wakefield has received significant consumer complaints regarding their collection practices. Understanding both the provider and consumer perspectives is essential when evaluating any collection agency.
The Better Business Bureau shows mixed reviews for Wakefield. While the company maintains an "A" rating with the BBB at their Aurora, Colorado location, they have accumulated over 640 consumer complaints in recent years. At their Fort Morgan, Colorado office, they hold an A+ rating with BBB accreditation.
Common complaint themes include allegations that Wakefield attempted to collect incorrect debt amounts, pursued debts not actually owed by the consumer, made improper threats suggesting non-payment constitutes a crime, and failed to properly validate debts when requested by consumers. Some consumers report difficulty getting the company to communicate via mail rather than phone, and others express frustration with persistent texting and calling.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database shows 152 complaints filed against Wakefield in recent years. Many complaints relate to disputed amounts, lack of proper debt validation, and concerns about credit reporting practices.
On consumer review sites, Wakefield receives extremely low ratings. Yelp reviews are generally negative, with many consumers expressing frustration with their experiences. The company holds just a 1.01 rating out of five stars on some review platforms.
It's important to note that collection agencies often receive disproportionately negative reviews because satisfied customers (those whose debts were legitimately owed and who paid them) rarely leave positive feedback, while those disputing debts are highly motivated to share complaints. However, the volume and nature of complaints against Wakefield do suggest areas where improved consumer communication and debt validation processes could benefit both the company and consumers.
Healthcare providers considering partnerships with collection agencies should review consumer feedback as one factor among many, recognizing that some level of complaints is inevitable in the debt collection industry but excessive complaints may indicate problematic practices.
Legal Compliance and Industry Regulations
Operating in the healthcare debt collection space requires strict adherence to multiple layers of federal and state regulations. Wakefield must comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which governs third-party debt collector behavior and prohibits harassment, misrepresentation, and unfair practices.
The company must also follow HIPAA regulations protecting patient health information privacy. Any communication about medical debts must be handled carefully to avoid unauthorized disclosure of protected health information to third parties.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates how collection agencies report debts to credit bureaus. Recent regulatory changes have significantly impacted medical debt reporting, with the three major credit bureaus voluntarily removing most medical debts under $500 from credit reports and eliminating paid medical debts from reports.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued increasingly specific guidance on medical debt collection in recent years, addressing issues like collecting on debts already paid by insurance, amounts prohibited by state or federal law, and surprise billing scenarios covered by the No Surprises Act.
Wakefield maintains collection agency licenses in all states where they operate, ensuring compliance with state-specific collection laws that can vary significantly from one jurisdiction to another. States have different requirements for licensing, bonding, communication practices, and statute of limitations on debt collection.
How Wakefield Compares to Alternative Solutions
Healthcare providers evaluating revenue cycle management partners have numerous options beyond Wakefield. Understanding the competitive landscape helps providers make informed decisions about which partner best fits their needs.
Large national RCM companies like IC System, Transworld Systems, and Accounts Recovery Management (ARM) Professional Services offer similar comprehensive revenue cycle solutions. Some focus more heavily on specific niches within healthcare, while others serve multiple industries beyond healthcare.
Regional collection agencies may offer more personalized service and local market knowledge but might lack the technology infrastructure and specialized expertise that larger national firms provide. For smaller medical practices, working with a specialized medical collections partner that understands their specific practice size and patient demographics can provide advantages in recovery rates and patient satisfaction.
Practice management companies increasingly offer integrated revenue cycle services as part of their overall practice management platforms. Some healthcare providers prefer keeping all services under one vendor relationship rather than working with separate billing, practice management, and collection partners.
In-house collection departments remain an option for larger healthcare systems that can justify the expense of building internal expertise and technology. However, most smaller providers find that outsourcing collections allows them to benefit from specialized expertise and technology without the fixed costs of maintaining internal collection capabilities.
The key differentiators among collection partners typically include recovery rates, client service quality, technology capabilities, compliance track record, and cultural fit with the healthcare provider's values around patient care and communication.
Working with Wakefield: Provider Perspective
Healthcare providers considering a partnership with Wakefield typically go through a consultation process to evaluate fit and determine service scope. The company assesses the provider's current revenue cycle performance, identifies pain points in billing and collections, and proposes solutions tailored to the specific challenges faced.
Implementation involves integrating Wakefield's systems with the provider's practice management software, establishing communication protocols, training staff on account placement procedures, and defining reporting requirements. The company assigns dedicated account managers to provide ongoing support and regular performance updates.
Pricing structures vary based on services selected. Traditional contingency-based collection fees typically range from 15% to 40% of amounts collected, depending on account age, account size, and collection difficulty. Early-out services generally command lower contingency rates than aged debt collection. Insurance follow-up and claims management may operate on different fee structures, including flat fees per claim or percentage of additional reimbursements secured.
Most providers report that working with an experienced RCM partner like Wakefield allows them to improve cash flow, reduce days in accounts receivable, and free up staff time to focus on clinical care rather than billing and collections. The key to success lies in selecting the right partner, maintaining clear communication about expectations, and regularly reviewing performance metrics to ensure the partnership delivers expected results.
Patient Experience and Debt Validation
Individuals who receive collection notices from Wakefield have specific rights under federal law. Understanding these rights helps consumers protect themselves while also ensuring legitimate debts are resolved appropriately.
When Wakefield first contacts a consumer about a debt, they must send a debt validation letter within five days. This letter must include the amount owed, the name of the original creditor, and information about the consumer's right to dispute the debt within 30 days.
Consumers who believe a debt is incorrect or not owed should send a debt verification letter requesting proof of the debt. Once Wakefield receives this request, they must cease collection activities until they provide verification showing the debt is legitimate and the amount is accurate.
If verification cannot be provided, or if the debt amount is incorrect, consumers should dispute the debt in writing and request removal from their credit report if it has been reported. Many complaints against Wakefield involve situations where proper debt validation was not provided when requested.
Consumers also have the right to request that Wakefield cease phone contact and communicate only via mail. While this doesn't eliminate the debt, it can reduce stress for consumers who prefer written communication. Making such requests in writing via certified mail creates documentation of the request.
For consumers facing legitimate medical debts they cannot afford to pay in full, negotiating payment plans or settlement arrangements often provides a path forward. Collection agencies including Wakefield typically have authority to negotiate reduced payoff amounts for accounts they own outright, and may facilitate payment plans on accounts they're collecting on behalf of healthcare providers.
The Future Following the Revco Merger
The 2025 merger between Wakefield and Revco Solutions represents a significant consolidation in the healthcare revenue cycle management industry. The combined entity brings together complementary strengths, with Revco's insurance revenue recovery and early-out self-pay expertise joining with Wakefield's bad debt collection and complex claims capabilities.
For healthcare providers, the merger promises access to a more comprehensive suite of services under a single vendor relationship. Expanded resources and greater expertise may translate to improved financial performance and more streamlined revenue cycle processes.
Industry consolidation in the RCM space reflects broader trends in healthcare, where economies of scale and technology investments increasingly favor larger organizations. Smaller RCM companies may find it challenging to compete with the resources and capabilities that larger merged entities can bring to the market.
Questions remain about how the merger will impact patient experience and consumer complaints, areas where both companies have faced criticism. The leadership's stated commitment to excellence and operational efficiency will need to translate into improved consumer communication and debt validation practices to address ongoing complaint patterns.
For the thousands of healthcare providers who partner with Wakefield, the transition to the combined Revco Solutions platform should bring continuity in service along with potential enhancements from expanded capabilities. Account managers and service teams are expected to remain largely intact, providing consistency for existing client relationships.
Making an Informed Decision About Healthcare Collections
Wakefield and Associates represents one option among many for healthcare providers seeking revenue cycle management solutions. The company's decades of experience, comprehensive service offerings, and nationwide presence make them a significant player in the healthcare RCM space.
Healthcare providers should evaluate multiple factors when selecting an RCM partner, including recovery rates, technology capabilities, compliance track record, consumer complaint patterns, service quality, and cultural alignment with the provider's values. Requesting references from current clients, reviewing complaint data from the BBB and CFPB, and conducting thorough due diligence helps ensure the selected partner will meet performance expectations.
For smaller medical practices or providers seeking more personalized service, considering specialized collections partners who focus on specific practice sizes or specialties may provide advantages in both recovery rates and patient satisfaction.
Ultimately, effective revenue cycle management requires partnership between the healthcare provider and their RCM vendor. Clear communication, realistic expectations, regular performance reviews, and shared commitment to both financial results and patient experience all contribute to successful outcomes.
Whether working with Wakefield or another RCM provider, healthcare organizations that take a strategic approach to revenue cycle management position themselves for improved financial health and the ability to focus resources on their core mission of patient care.
