A provider’s comparison
Clearest and
HaloMD
Choosing an IDR service means deciding who will prepare the case, keep your biller informed, and follow the payment. Here is what Clearest and HaloMD say they offer, and what to ask before signing.
Who each company serves
HaloMD describes a dedicated IDR service for out-of-network providers. Its audience page names anesthesia, emergency medicine, radiology, pathology, critical care, intraoperative neuromonitoring, and air ambulance providers. See the specialties HaloMD serves.
Clearest helps independent practices assess underpayments, prepare evidence, and manage eligible payment disputes. The practice and its biller remain involved in supplying records, authorizing decisions, and confirming receipts. Read Clearest’s service scope.
We wrote this comparison from the public pages linked below. We have not tested HaloMD’s service or verified its results. Where a detail is missing, we mark it unknown and suggest what to ask.
Who handles each part of the case?
| Decision | Clearest | HaloMD |
|---|---|---|
| Service scope | Eligibility assessment, negotiation, dispute preparation and filing, followed by payment follow-up. Service scope | Advertises federal and state IDR support, including eligibility assessment, documentation, submission, and negotiation. Service description |
| Evidence preparation | Reviews available records and prepares claim-specific supporting materials. Dispute workflow | Describes offer analytics, historical data, and documentation preparation. Evidence approach |
| Case visibility | Reporting scope and payment reconciliation are agreed during engagement. Reporting questions | Advertises ongoing reporting and analytics on dispute outcomes and trends. Reporting description |
| Pricing | Recovery-based pricing; percentage discussed during consultation. Confirm expenses and the fee calculation in writing. Pricing | A general rate was not publicly disclosed on the reviewed pages. Ask for a quote covering your claims. HaloMD’s website |
| Your team’s work | The practice supplies records and authorization; the biller continues routine billing and reconciles receipts. Responsibilities | Describes provider submission through its portal. Detailed record-transfer and ongoing billing responsibilities require confirmation. Submission description |
Ask for a case walkthrough
Bring the same de-identified claim example to both consultations. Ask each team to walk it through eligibility review, missing records, negotiation, filing, and payment follow-up. Arrange any transfer of actual claim records separately.
- Who checks the applicable payment-dispute route and documents the decision?
- Who requests missing records, and who in your practice approves the payment offer?
- Can your biller see the next action, its owner, and supporting correspondence?
- How are partial payments, unpaid determinations, and corrected remittances handled?
- What information is available to export when the engagement ends?
A demonstration is more useful when it distinguishes the amounts claimed, determined, and actually received. Request a sample report and ask how each number reconciles to your billing records.
What would you actually pay?
A percentage alone does not tell you the cost of an engagement. Ask both companies to calculate their fee on the same hypothetical recovery, showing which dollars form the fee base, who advances dispute expenses, and how refunds are treated.
Then cover unsuccessful, withdrawn, ineligible, and unpaid cases. Confirm contract length, termination notice, and responsibility for disputes still in progress. Do not assume one client’s agreement represents either company’s standard offer.
Before you choose
Both companies describe specialist IDR support. Ask how each would work with your specialty, claim mix, and existing biller. The case walkthrough should leave you clear about who does the work and what your practice still needs to provide.
Ask for references from practices with similar billing arrangements. If either company presents outcome figures, ask which cases and time period they cover, and whether “recovered” means a determination or cash received.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Have a claim
to discuss?
Talk through your practice’s claims and the support you need.
Discuss your practice’s claimsContent and sources reviewed .
