Billions of dollars go unclaimed and are held in state treasuries across the country as unclaimed property.

As a medical practitioner, you prioritize your time and energy to deliver the best healthcare services to your patients. However, managing the day-to-day demands of medical practice can be challenging, leaving little time to focus on financial matters.

One such area that’s often overlooked is failing to claim unclaimed checks at least once a year.

What’s an Unclaimed Check?

An unclaimed check or unclaimed property refers to any financial asset, such as a refund, credit, rebate, or paycheck, owed to an individual or business and has not been cashed or deposited by the intended recipient. This can happen for various reasons, such as the recipient being unaware of the payment, moving and not leaving a forwarding address, or simply forgetting about the check.

All entities, including insurance agencies, banks, and businesses, must annually report unclaimed property to the appropriate unclaimed property departments in all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

How to Recover Unclaimed Checks?

Your medical practice could ignore some significant unclaimed checks that were not cashed by the practice or were never delivered to the practice.

You can search the unclaimed property database maintained by each state to locate any potential missed or unclaimed funds that may belong to you or your business.

To locate and recover any unclaimed checks that you may not be aware of, follow the simple steps below:

1. Visit your state’s official website and navigate to the unclaimed property section. You can also visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators site to access your state’s official program website.
2. Enter your business/personal details to search for any unclaimed property.
3. If you find any unclaimed property that belongs to you, click the “claim” button and follow the instructions to fill in the necessary details and submit your claim.

Once you submit a claim, you will likely need to undergo a documentation procedure to verify your identity and your right to the claimed property.

Unclaimed property rightfully belongs to you, and as a medical practitioner, recovering these funds periodically or at least once a year is necessary. With just a few simple steps, you can quickly locate and recover any unclaimed property that may belong to your medical practice, ensuring you don’t miss out on any potential revenue opportunities.