Executive summary
Independent practices are operating under measurable financial and administrative pressure. The American Medical Association's 2024 Physician Practice Benchmark Survey found that 42.2% of physicians worked in private practices, down from 60.1% in 2012. Among physicians whose practices had been acquired since 2014, 70.8% rated better negotiating leverage with payers as important or very important, 64.9% cited access to costly resources, and 63.6% cited better management of payer regulatory and administrative requirements.
The 2024 CAQH Index estimates that U.S. healthcare administrative work costs $440 billion annually. CAQH tracks $90 billion of medical and dental administrative transactions and identifies a $20 billion annual opportunity from moving remaining manual workflows to electronic transactions. It estimates automation already avoided $222 billion in administrative costs.
Public benchmarks that can be compared responsibly
| Measure | Public benchmark | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Physicians working in private practice, 2024 | 42.2% | Private practice remains substantial, but its share fell 17.9 percentage points from 2012. |
| Physicians working in private practice, 2012 | 60.1% | The AMA baseline for the long-term ownership shift. |
| Acquired-practice physicians citing payer-rate leverage | 70.8% | Payer economics are a leading stated reason practices sell. |
| Citing access to costly resources | 64.9% | Staffing and systems scale materially affect independence. |
| Citing payer regulatory and administrative requirements | 63.6% | Administrative execution is closely tied to sustainability. |
| Annual U.S. healthcare administrative cost | $440 billion | CAQH's broad estimate of national administrative work. |
| Administrative spending tracked by CAQH | $90 billion | The medical and dental transaction subset analyzed by the Index. |
| Remaining annual automation opportunity | $20 billion | CAQH estimates 22% of tracked costs could still be saved. |
| Administrative costs avoided through automation | $222 billion | Evidence that electronic workflows create systemwide savings. |
What every practice should measure internally
National estimates do not replace a practice's own baseline. Review these measures monthly and compare them with the prior three, six and twelve months:
- Days in A/R, overall and by payer.
- A/R aging mix across 0–30, 31–60, 61–90, 91–120 and over-120-day buckets.
- Clean-claim and first-pass resolution rates, using stable definitions.
- Initial denial rate and denial categories, ranked by dollars, volume, payer and root cause.
- Net collection rate, with contractual and other adjustments separated.
- Charge-entry and claim-submission lag.
- Eligibility and authorization exceptions identified before service.
- Patient-balance yield and time to payment, separate from insurance A/R.
Use the free denial and A/R worksheet to calculate a consistent internal baseline without entering PHI.
A practical 30-day comparison method
- Freeze metric definitions before extracting data.
- Use the same reporting dates and payer groupings for every period.
- Reconcile charges, payments and adjustments to the practice-management system.
- Identify the three denial categories with the largest recoverable dollars.
- Identify the three payer workflows producing the longest delays.
- Assign an owner and due date to every corrective action.
- Re-run the report after 30 days and record whether the trend improved.
For a deeper review, see how to read an A/R aging report, denial management and days in A/R.
Limitations
This is an independent synthesis of third-party public research, not a peer-reviewed study and not a claim about Synergy clients. AMA figures are survey estimates for physicians meeting the survey's eligibility criteria. CAQH figures are national estimates for administrative transactions and are not savings guaranteed to an individual practice. Specialty, geography, payer mix, coding complexity, patient demographics and system configuration can materially change results.
Sources
- American Medical Association, Physician Practice Characteristics in 2024, 2025.
- American Medical Association, Physician Practice Benchmark Survey, updated June 24, 2026.
- CAQH, 2024 CAQH Index, 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is a useful medical billing benchmark for an independent practice?
A useful benchmark is defined consistently and compared over time. Days in A/R, aging mix, first-pass resolution, denial dollars, net collection rate and submission lag are more actionable when tracked by payer and root cause than when compared with a single generic industry average.
Does this report use Synergy client data?
No. Every market figure in this report comes from public AMA or CAQH research. The report does not use or imply results from Synergy clients.
How often should a practice review revenue-cycle metrics?
Review the core dashboard monthly and investigate material changes by payer, provider, denial category and aging bucket. Use the same definitions and reporting dates so comparisons remain valid.