RARC M32: Missing or Invalid Occurrence Code or Date
The claim is missing required occurrence codes or dates, or the values provided are invalid — verify the applicable occurrence information and resubmit.
What Does RARC M32 Mean?
M32 flags a problem with occurrence codes or their associated dates on an institutional claim. Occurrence codes are two-digit values on the UB-04 form (form locators 31–34) that report significant events in the patient's treatment or billing history — such as the date of an accident, the onset of symptoms, the date a prior authorization was issued, or the start of a qualifying hospital stay for skilled nursing facility benefits. Each occurrence code has a corresponding date, and both must be present and valid for the payer to process the claim correctly.
The triggers for M32 fall into a few categories. The most common is a required occurrence code being entirely absent — for example, submitting a SNF claim without occurrence code 18 (date of retirement of the patient or beneficiary) when the payer requires it for benefit determination. Another trigger is an occurrence date that falls outside a logical range, such as a symptom onset date that is after the date of service or a future date entered by mistake. Payers may also flag occurrence codes that do not apply to the claim type or facility type being billed.
M32 is usually paired with CARC 16 (missing information) or CARC 252 (additional information required). The specific occurrence code at issue may not be identified in the remark itself, so you may need to check the payer's requirements for the claim type to determine which occurrence code and date are expected.
What to Do
Review the claim's occurrence code fields against the payer's requirements for the specific claim type and facility type. Determine which occurrence codes are mandatory for the services billed and verify that each one has a valid, logical date. If an occurrence code is missing, obtain the correct date from the patient's chart or administrative records and add it to the claim. If a date appears incorrect, cross-reference it with clinical documentation. Resubmit once corrections are made.
For facility billing teams, maintaining a reference matrix of required occurrence codes by claim type (inpatient, outpatient, SNF, home health, etc.) can streamline this process. Common occurrence codes that trigger M32 include code 11 (onset of symptoms), code 18 (date of retirement), code 31 (date of first treatment for a condition), and condition-specific codes that payers require for certain benefit categories.
Common Scenarios
- A skilled nursing facility claim is returned because occurrence code 18 (retirement date) is required for Medicare benefit calculation but was left blank on the UB-04.
- An inpatient claim for a motor vehicle accident is denied because occurrence code 01 (accident date) is missing, and the payer needs it to determine whether another liability insurer should be billed first.
- A home health claim reports an onset-of-symptoms date (occurrence code 11) that is three months after the start of care date, which the payer flags as logically inconsistent.
Commonly Paired With
No common pairings documented yet.