CARC 26 Active

OA-26: Expenses Incurred Prior to Coverage

TL;DR

Adjustment in a COB or secondary payer context. Review the coordination of benefits details to determine the responsible party.

Action
Verify & Resubmit
Who Pays
Depends
Appeal
Yes
Patient Impact
Indirect
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 OA-26 Mean?

With OA (Other Adjustments), CARC 26 typically appears in a coordination of benefits (COB) context. Secondary payer's coverage start date is after the date of service. The financial responsibility depends on the specific arrangement between payers — review the primary payer's EOB and the COB terms to determine the correct course of action.

CARC 26 indicates expenses incurred prior to coverage. The payer determined that the service or a portion of it does not meet coverage criteria under the patient's current plan benefits or the applicable coverage rules.

Common scenarios that trigger this adjustment include: the date of service on the claim is before the patient's insurance coverage began; The patient's coverage was retroactively terminated to a date before the service; The payer has an incorrect coverage start date in their system. The group code paired with CARC 26 determines who bears the financial responsibility — CO places it on the provider as a contractual obligation, PR shifts it to the patient, OA indicates a coordination of benefits or other payer adjustment.

Common Causes

Cause Frequency
Secondary payer coverage date issue Secondary payer's coverage start date is after the date of service Most Common

How to Resolve

  1. Review the coordination of benefits Examine the OA-26 adjustment to understand how it fits within the primary/secondary payer relationship or other multi-payer context.
  2. Verify primary payer adjudication Review the primary payer's EOB to understand the basis for the secondary payer's OA adjustment.
  3. Determine the responsible party Based on the COB review, identify whether the adjustment should be absorbed, billed to another payer, or if additional documentation is needed.
  4. Appeal or resubmit if needed Appeal with enrollment documentation showing correct coverage dates.
  5. Follow up Monitor the claim status and take additional action as needed based on the COB determination.
Appeal Guide

Appeal with enrollment documentation showing correct coverage dates.

Common RARC Pairings

The RARC code tells you exactly what triggered the OA-26:

RARC Description
N30 Patient not eligible on date of service Verify secondary coverage dates →

How to Prevent OA-26

Also Filed As

The same CARC 26 may appear with different Group Codes:

CO-26 PR-26

Related Denial Codes

OA-27 — Expenses Incurred After Coverage Terminated OA-31 — Patient Cannot Be Identified as Insured OA-32 — Patient Not Eligible Dependent OA-33 — Insured Has No Dependent Coverage OA-34 — No Coverage for Newborns

Sources

  1. https://x12.org/codes/claim-adjustment-reason-codes
  2. https://revenuecyclemgmt.com/claim-adjustment-reason-codes/
  3. https://www.rivethealth.com/blog/carcs-rarcs-claim-adjustment-remittance-advice-codes
  4. Codes maintained by X12. Visit x12.org for official definitions.