CARC 45CO · Contractual Obligation
The amount billed is higher than the maximum allowable amount set by the payer's fee schedule or contract, and the difference is being written off.
- Common causes
- Standard contractual pricing: in-network providers agree to accept the payer's allowed amount, so anything above it is automatically adjusted.
- Suggested fix
- No action is typically needed for contracted write-offs; verify the contracted rate if the allowed amount looks incorrect.
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 45 mean?
The amount billed is higher than the maximum allowable amount set by the payer's fee schedule or contract, and the difference is being written off.
How do I resolve CARC 45?
No action is typically needed for contracted write-offs; verify the contracted rate if the allowed amount looks incorrect.
Why does CARC 45 happen?
Standard contractual pricing: in-network providers agree to accept the payer's allowed amount, so anything above it is automatically adjusted.
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.