CARC 233CO · Contractual Obligation
This charge relates to treating a condition the hospital caused, which Medicare and many payers won't separately reimburse.
- Common causes
- The condition is on a hospital-acquired conditions list and wasn't documented as present on admission.
- Suggested fix
- Review the present-on-admission indicators; if the condition was actually present on admission, correct the coding and resubmit.
Related Contractual Obligation codes
107This claim depends on another related claim or service being referenced, but that link wasn't provided.11The diagnosis code doesn't support medical necessity for the procedure billed, based on the payer's coverage edits.13The claim shows a date of service after the patient's recorded date of death.146The diagnosis code billed wasn't a valid, active code as of the date of service.150The documentation submitted doesn't justify the complexity or level of the service billed, commonly seen with evaluation and management visit levels.16The claim is missing required information or contains a billing error that prevented the payer from processing it.170This payer doesn't reimburse this specific provider type for this service.171This payer doesn't cover this service when it's billed by this provider type in this particular facility setting.
Frequently asked questions
What does CARC 233 mean?
This charge relates to treating a condition the hospital caused, which Medicare and many payers won't separately reimburse.
How do I resolve CARC 233?
Review the present-on-admission indicators; if the condition was actually present on admission, correct the coding and resubmit.
Why does CARC 233 happen?
The condition is on a hospital-acquired conditions list and wasn't documented as present on admission.
CARC codes maintained by X12 (x12.org). Descriptions on this site are original reference interpretations. Always verify codes with authoritative sources before making billing decisions.