Which statement best describes the composition of payments collected by a collection agency?

• A. Payment is posted as soon as collected.
• B. The payments collected by the collection agency are made up of amounts collected from various patients with various account ages.
• C. The agency must obtain patient consent before posting.
• D. All payments are for current accounts only.

Answer: (B)

In a collection agency, the money you collect comes from a broad mix of sources—many patients with different balances and different levels of aging on their accounts. That means the payments posted to the agency’s receipts are made up of amounts from various patients, with accounts at various ages, not just from one type of account or one patient. This reflects how agencies handle multiple accounts across the spectrum of delinquencies.

Other statements focus on when posting happens, the need for patient consent to post, or restricting payments to current accounts only. Posting timing and consent are not about what the collection pool consists of, and in practice, payments come from both current and delinquent accounts, not exclusively from current ones.