Coordination of benefits determines the order in which multiple health plans pay for a patient's care: primary, secondary and so on. Claims sent to the wrong plan first are denied.
Asking about other coverage at every visit and keeping the order current prevents COB denials.
Related terms
- Eligibility verification
- Confirming a patient's insurance is active and what it covers before the visit.
- Claim denial
- A payer's decision not to pay a claim that it received and processed.
- CARC (claim adjustment reason code)
- The standard code that explains why a claim line was paid differently than billed.