CARC Code
20
Covered by Liability Carrier
The patient's injury or illness is covered by a liability insurance carrier (such as auto insurance or workers' compensation), not by the health insurance plan that denied the claim.
cobHow to resolve this denial
▶✓ Pre-action checklist — verify before contacting the payer
Review the full remittance advice (ERA/EOB) for additional RARC codes that explain the denial.
Verify the claim was submitted with correct patient eligibility and benefit information.
Check if this denial applies to a specific line item or the entire claim.
▶More about OA-20 — stats, related codes, appeal template
99%
Recovery Rate
1-3 days
Avg. Resolution
Medium
Difficulty
Rare
Frequency
Payer-Specific Notes
How major payers handle CARC 20 by specialty.
UnitedHealthcare
Review UHC's online claim status tool for additional detail on this adjustment.
Common 835 Combinations
CARC 20 most often appears with these Group Code + RARC combinations on 835 remittances.
Appeal Letter Template
Generic appeal template for CARC 20 denials.
We are submitting a formal appeal for claim [CLAIM_NUMBER] for patient [PATIENT_NAME], date of service [DOS]. This claim was denied/adjusted with CARC 20 indicating: "This injury/illness is covered by the liability carrier.." We have reviewed the claim and are providing the attached documentation to support reconsideration. [SUPPORTING_DOCUMENTATION]. Please reconsider payment per the terms of our contract.
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