Start with the true task count
A finance model should count every eligibility touch: rechecks, follow-up for missing data, payer call-backs, denied claims and corrected estimates, not only the scheduled verification step.
Multiply those touches by your fully loaded labour rate, your error rate and the number of locations or providers, and the yearly cost becomes visible.
The hidden cost is rework
Eligibility mistakes create cost downstream: denials, delayed collections, billing disputes with patients and provider time spent on surprises. A business case should include avoided rework and cleaner estimates, not just minutes saved on the first lookup.
Change the queue, not just the lookup
Digital workers run the repeated portal lookups, collect the evidence and separate complete checks from cases that need review. The team spends its time on the exceptions that affect cash and the patient's experience.