Denial code

CO 55 denial code

Treated as experimental or investigational.

Winnable with a clinician CO PR 55

What CO 55 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.

The same code, a different prefix. 55 also arrives as PR 55. The reason for the denial is the same. The prefix decides who pays for it, so the next step is not the same. If your remit says PR 55, read that page instead.

Is it worth appealing?

Winnable with a clinician. Recoverable on the merits, but somebody clinical has to attest.

What to do

Appeal with literature and the payer policy. Low win rate; triage by dollar value.

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 55 description

Treated as experimental or investigational. 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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