How Altera and MCAG Are Rewriting the Playbook on Revenue Recovery

The $2.8 billion Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) provider settlement may represent one of the most substantial class action victories for U.S. healthcare providers in recent memory, but for many hospitals, it’s a test. A test of bandwidth, compliance readiness, and whether resource-constrained organizations can capture what they’re rightfully owed.

That’s what makes the new partnership between Altera Digital Health and Managed Care Advisory Group (MCAG) far more than a back-office convenience. It’s a smart, timely evolution in how providers access and unlock revenue, with no added overhead, no compliance drag, and no lost opportunity.

Revenue Recovery as a Service at Scale

Altera is bringing MCAG’s class action claims management services directly to its client base, many of whom are precisely the types of providers, rural, community, and mid-sized hospitals, that don’t have surplus compliance staff or internal legal teams. The agreement makes it easy for them to file claims in major settlements like the BCBS litigation by leaning on MCAG’s track record: over $500 million recovered for 1,400+ hospitals, and a deep understanding of how to document, submit, and follow through.

What’s crucial here is simplicity. Filing for a settlement that spans claims from 2008 to 2024 isn’t just administrative, it’s operational. By embedding MCAG’s services into its client support ecosystem, Altera is effectively giving its customers a turnkey solution. No chasing down records. No missed deadlines. Just expert-managed recovery that requires minimal lift and delivers maximum benefit.

Transforming Tech Vendors into Financial Enablers

This move also speaks to a larger trend, one that could reshape the healthcare IT landscape. Historically, electronic health record (EHR) and practice management vendors focused narrowly on clinical workflows and data interoperability. But in today’s environment, providers are asking for more. They need partners that can help them not only streamline care, but stabilize revenue and reduce risk.

That’s exactly where Altera is heading. By offering proactive, value-added services like class action recovery, the company is positioning itself as more than a technology supplier. It’s becoming a co-strategist for financial performance, a platform that doesn’t just process clinical data but enables providers to identify and access funds that might otherwise go unclaimed.

It’s a smart alignment with how the healthcare business model is shifting. Non-operating revenue, whether from settlements, grants, or compliance-based incentives, is becoming a meaningful line item for many health systems. Yet most of that potential is still locked behind complexity and administrative burden. The vendors that make it accessible will stand out.

Turning Compliance into Competitive Advantage

MCAG’s model is built on simplicity: it’s contingency-based, results-driven, and requires minimal input from clients. What Altera is doing is extending that model into its own client success strategy, ensuring that even small providers can participate in settlement opportunities without losing precious time or resources.

And this is just the start. Imagine a future in which claims recovery is integrated directly into a provider’s workflow, where eligible opportunities are flagged automatically, and documentation is generated in real-time based on billing histories. With the right technology roadmap, what was once a reactive legal afterthought becomes a proactive revenue channel.

In this vision, compliance is a tool for resilience.

A Timely Advantage for Hospitals Under Pressure

With the July 29, 2025, BCBS claim deadline approaching, Altera clients now have a frictionless way to recover funds that may make a meaningful difference to their bottom lines. But more importantly, they now have a partner that sees the financial health of healthcare organizations as an integral part of digital transformation.

The Altera-MCAG collaboration signals a new kind of value proposition in the EHR and digital health space, one that pairs technological agility with financial insight. It acknowledges that recovery doesn’t have to be painful, compliance doesn’t have to be reactive, and providers don’t have to go it alone.

For any hospital leader looking to maximize revenue integrity while minimizing burden, this is more than good timing. It’s smart strategy. And it’s a welcome reminder that in the age of value-based everything, the right partnerships strengthen the business of care itself.