CARC P10 Active

CO-P10: Payment Reduced to Zero Due to Litigation — P&C Only

TL;DR

CO-P10 is a litigation hold — the carrier cannot pay. Redirect to health insurance and track the legal proceedings.

Action
Review & Decide
Who Pays
Provider
Appeal
No
Patient Impact
None
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional billing advice. Always verify information against your payer contracts and current coding guidelines. Consult a certified billing specialist for specific claim issues.

What Does CO-P10 Mean?

When paired with Group Code CO, the litigation hold prevents the carrier from releasing payment. This is not appealable through normal channels. Redirect to health insurance and track the litigation.

CARC P10 applies to property and casualty claims and indicates payment has been reduced to zero because the underlying P&C claim is in active litigation. The carrier is legally unable to release payment while the case is being disputed in court. This may involve disputed liability, a court-ordered payment freeze, or a contested coverage determination.

This is not an appealable denial through normal channels — it is a litigation hold that must be resolved through the legal system. The provider should redirect billing to the patient's health insurance in the interim and track the litigation status for eventual resolution.

Common Causes

Cause Frequency
Active litigation over the P&C claim The underlying P&C claim is in active litigation and the carrier cannot make payments until the litigation is resolved Most Common
Disputed liability in court Liability for the incident is being contested in court, preventing the carrier from processing claims Most Common
Court-ordered payment freeze A court has ordered a freeze on payments related to the P&C claim pending resolution of the legal dispute Common

How to Resolve

  1. Contact adjuster for details Get litigation status and timeline information.
  2. Redirect to health insurance Bill the patient's health insurance in the interim.
  3. Track litigation Monitor for resolution and rebill P&C when resolved.
Do Not Appeal This Code

Payment is reduced to zero due to active litigation. The carrier cannot release payment until the legal proceedings are resolved. Redirect the claim to the patient's health insurance in the interim.

Common RARC Pairings

The RARC code tells you exactly what triggered the CO-P10:

RARC Description
N381 Alert: Consult your contractual agreement for restrictions, billing, and payment information. Contact the P&C adjuster for litigation status and expected resolution timeline →

How to Prevent CO-P10

Also Filed As

The same CARC P10 may appear with different Group Codes:

OA-P10 PR-P10

Related Denial Codes

CO-101 — Predetermination: Anticipated Payment CO-106 — Patient Payment Option Not in Effect CO-109 — Claim Not Covered by This Payer CO-115 — Procedure Postponed, Canceled, or Delayed CO-132 — Prearranged Demonstration Project Adjustment

Sources

  1. https://x12.org/codes/claim-adjustment-reason-codes
  2. https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coordination-benefits
  3. Codes maintained by X12. Visit x12.org for official definitions.