RemitBench/Denial codes/CO-182

CO-182 denial code

Code 182 completes the set. The diagnosis, the procedure and the modifier each have their own version of "not valid on that date", and this is the modifier one.

The code list's own wording: Procedure modifier was invalid on the date of service.

What it means: The modifier existed at some point but was not in force on the date of service, or it was not valid for that payer on that date.
Who owes the money: Nobody yet Nothing was adjudicated. Do not bill the patient.
Is appealing worth it: No. Corrected claim.

Do not confuse this with CO-4. A 4 says the modifier and the procedure do not go together at all. A 182 says the modifier was fine for that procedure and was not in force on that date. Same field, different problem, and treating one as the other sends you looking in the wrong place.

Why the payer sent it

The modifier was retired before the date of service.
The modifier was introduced after the date of service.
The payer stopped accepting that modifier on a date of its own.
A stored template holds a modifier that is no longer current.
The date of service is wrong.

Remark codes you will see with it

Remark code	What it adds
N823	The modifier is incomplete or invalid. Its own page.
M78	Missing, incomplete or invalid HCPCS modifier.
MA130	Unprocessable claim, no appeal rights. Resubmit.

Remark code

What it adds

N823

The modifier is incomplete or invalid. Its own page.

M78

Missing, incomplete or invalid HCPCS modifier.

MA130

Unprocessable claim, no appeal rights. Resubmit.

Read the letters in front of the 182

CO-182: Contractual obligation. Correct rather than absorb.
PI-182: Payer initiated. Not the patient's money.

What to do next

Check the date of service, then the modifier list for that date

Same order as the other two calendar codes. The date is cheaper to check.
Check whether this is really a pairing problem

Payers do not always pick between 4 and 182 carefully. If the modifier is current, the real issue may be that it does not belong on that procedure.
Clean the template

A stored modifier that has been retired will keep going out on every claim built from that template.

Codes that get mixed up with 182

Code	How it differs from 182
4	The modifier does not go with the procedure. A pairing problem rather than a date one. See CO-4.
181	The procedure code was invalid on that date. See CO-181.
146	The diagnosis was invalid on that date. See CO-146.
16	The general claim error code. See CO-16.

Code 182 in dental

Straight dental claims use modifiers lightly, so this appears mostly on medical cross coded claims. When it does appear on a dental claim it usually concerns the fields that behave like modifiers: tooth, surface, quadrant and arch.

Questions people ask about CO-182

What is the difference between CO-4 and CO-182?

Code 4 means the modifier does not belong with that procedure code at all. Code 182 means the modifier was fine for the procedure but was not valid on that date of service. One is a pairing problem and the other is a calendar problem.

Related codes

Back to all denial codes

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