In 2024, the U.S. Healthcare system spent nearly USD 5 Tn – and over USD 110 Bn of that went toward one critical but often overlooked function: Revenue Cycle Management (RCM).

At first glance, this might seem like just another back-office line item. But look closer, and you’ll see something more revealing: a growing operational crisis, quietly draining billions in uncollected revenue, administrative waste, and claim denials.

And the kicker? That USD 110 Bn is just the beginning. RCM spend is projected to nearly double to USD 200 – 210 Bn by 2029. The volume of revenue flowing through RCM systems is exploding. The complexity – from Medicare, Medicaid, Private Insurers – is increasing. But the processes? They’re still painfully fragmented.

So, here’s the real question:

Where will the Healthcare industry find the scalability, accuracy, and cost control to survive this RCM surge? Increasingly, the answer is India.

RCM Is Broken. And It’s Costing You More Than You Think

RCM touches every point in a patient’s billing journey, from the moment they schedule an appointment to when the final payment clears. But across these three phases, front-end (eligibility checks, coding), mid-cycle (claims creation and review), and back-end (denials, payments), the system leaks value.

• Claims are denied due to poor data capture.
• Payments are delayed by days or weeks.
• Revenue is lost entirely because of errors in coding or missed follow-ups.

Hospitals know this. According to internal benchmarks across the U.S., RCM inefficiencies lead to revenue leakages in the range of 3-5% of topline billing. For a mid-sized hospital system with USD 500 Mn in annual revenue, that’s USD 15-25 Mn lost – every year.

Which is why Healthcare leaders have stopped asking “Should we fix RCM?”

Now they ask: “Where can we find the expertise to do it at scale – and fast?”

Why India’s RCM Engine Is Becoming Healthcare’s Best-Kept Secret

What began as a tactical move to cut costs has now evolved into a global operating advantage. Outsourcing RCM is proving to be a strategic move for healthcare providers.

• Claim denials drop by up to 65% when U.S. healthcare providers partner with specialized RCM firms.
• Operational costs reduce by 20–30%, freeing up critical capital that can be redirected toward care innovation and digital transformation.

Over the last two decades, India has quietly built a deep, tech-enabled ecosystem that now anchors a majority of global RCM operations. India now hosts over 60% of the global RCM workforce.

But here’s the real takeaway for Healthcare CXOs: In an environment where payer rules change weekly, Medicare audits are intensifying, and margins are razor-thin, these improvements aren’t just convenient, they’re existential. A 10% reduction in denials can translate into millions in recovered revenue. Accelerating claim submission by even 48 hours can sharpen cash flow, reduce borrowing needs, and materially boost EBITDA. And lowering admin costs by 25% can shift budget from back-office bloat to frontline patient care.

More Than Labor Arbitrage: The Technology Multiplier

RCM is no longer just a labor-intensive process – it’s a digital one.

• 74% of RCM Service Providers now embed AI into their offerings.
• Patient onboarding times have dropped by 90% in AI-enabled RCM workflows.
• Claim management efficiency has improved by up to 92%, driving faster processing and speeding up claims.

India offers a digitally augmented workforce. One that understands compliance, adapts to payer complexity, and scales with demand. And in a post-COVID world where patient surges can break systems, Indian RCM hubs are already optimized for volatility, absorbing workload spikes without compromising on SLAs or accuracy.

A Wider Talent Base, A Deeper Capability Stack

India’s advantage is no longer confined to Tier-I metros. Tier-II and Tier-III cities are now rich talent corridors, producing skilled RCM professionals and reducing dependency on a few urban centers.

Meanwhile, Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India are evolving into innovation labs, experimenting with Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), AI-based denial prediction, and real-time claim scrubbing tools that cut cycle times and error rates.

The implication? India is a strategic co-pilot for U.S. Healthcare organizations looking to stabilize cash flows, automate billing, and reduce administrative burden.

So, What Should Healthcare Leaders Do Now?

If your RCM is still being managed in-house, manually, or across siloed vendors, you’re not just behind – you’re bleeding value.

The global RCM market is growing at a 13–15% CAGR over the next five years. As revenue complexity scales and regulatory scrutiny rises, those who can handle velocity, accuracy, and compliance will win.

India is not the only option. But it is the most proven, most scalable, and most innovation-ready option.

If you’re asking, “How do we bring our RCM operations into the future?”
Start by asking: “Who in India is already doing it better?”