Each payer sets a time limit, counted from the date of service, within which a claim must be filed. Medicare's limit is 12 months; commercial and Medicaid plans vary and can be much shorter.
Claims filed after the deadline are denied, and these denials are very hard to overturn without proof of timely submission.
Related terms
- Accounts receivable (AR)
- Money owed to the practice for services already provided.
- AR aging
- Accounts receivable grouped by how long it has been outstanding.
- Claim rejection
- A claim returned before processing because of errors; it never entered adjudication.