Denial code

CO 252 denial code

The payer wants supporting documentation attached.

Fix and resubmit CO

What CO 252 means

CO: Contractual obligation. The provider absorbs it and cannot bill the patient.

So the balance cannot move to the patient. Either the appeal recovers it or the practice absorbs it. That makes the appeal decision the whole decision on this line.

Is it worth appealing?

Fix and resubmit. This is a correction, not an appeal. Appealing burns the deadline.

What to do

Send the records the RARC asks for. Often a 275 attachment.

Where this comes from. This is our own reading of the code, not the payer's and not a copy of the standards text. We classify it from how these denials actually resolve. Where we are unsure, we say so rather than guessing.

CO 252 description

The payer wants supporting documentation attached. So the balance cannot move to the patient. Either the appeal recovers it or the practice absorbs it. That makes the appeal decision the whole decision on this line.

This is our plain-English wording, not the official X12 text. X12 asserts copyright over the published descriptions, so we write our own and say what it means for the money rather than restating the code.

Related codes

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