Denial code

CO 252

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.

Related codes

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