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CO-202 Denial Code: Personal Comfort or Convenience Item

CO-202 means the payer classified the service as a non-covered personal comfort or convenience item, something provided for the patient's comfort rather than for diagnosis or treatment. Medicare, for example, excludes personal comfort items by statute.

Quick facts

Code
CO-202 (CARC 202)
Status
Active In use since February 28, 2007; last modified September 30, 2007.
Code set
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The provider absorbs the charge. A network contract or program rule may prevent billing the patient.
  • PR (Patient Responsibility): More typical. The patient is responsible for the comfort item, usually after being informed of the charge and agreeing to it.
Official description
Non-covered personal comfort or convenience services.
X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What CO-202 means

CARC 202 reads “Non-covered personal comfort or convenience services.” Payers cover services and items needed to diagnose or treat a condition. They don’t cover things provided for the patient’s convenience or personal comfort. When a claim includes such an item, the payer denies it with this code.

Medicare excludes personal comfort items by statute, so they are not covered no matter what documentation you provide, unless the item is actually needed for treatment. Commercial plans typically have similar exclusions in their benefit documents.

Example: a hospital bill includes a daily charge for an in-room television requested by the patient. The payer denies that line with CARC 202. Under PR, the hospital may bill the patient if the charge was disclosed.

Common causes

  • Room amenities such as TV, phone, or internet charges.
  • Private room upgrades without a documented medical need.
  • Personal care items such as toiletries or cosmetics.
  • Convenience services, like extra meals for visitors or other non-clinical conveniences.
  • Items misclassified in the chargemaster that actually support treatment.

How to fix it

  1. Review the denied line and confirm what the item or service was.
  2. If it was truly a comfort item, bill the patient if the group code is PR and the patient was informed, or write it off under CO.
  3. If it served a medical purpose, document the reason (for example isolation for infection control) and appeal, or submit a corrected claim with the appropriate code.
  4. If it shouldn’t have been billed to the payer, remove it from future claims and bill it directly to the patient as a non-covered charge.

How to prevent it

  • Separate comfort charges from billable clinical charges in the chargemaster.
  • Disclose comfort charges to patients in writing before providing them, with pricing.
  • Document medical reasons whenever an item that looks like a comfort item is clinically required.
  • Screen claims for items payers consistently deny as comfort services. The Claims Validator checks claims before submission. See also preventable denials.

Specialty notes

Hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other inpatient settings see this code most, since amenities are usually provided during stays.

Remark codes that may appear with CO-202

  • N425 (Statutorily excluded service(s).): The service is statutorily excluded from coverage, as personal comfort items are under Medicare.
  • N130 (Consult plan benefit documents/guidelines for information about restrictions for this service.): Points to plan documents listing excluded items and services.
  • CO-96 (Non-covered charge(s).): A general non-covered charge denial.
  • PR-204 (This service/equipment/drug is not covered under the patient's current benefit plan): The service, equipment, or drug isn't covered under the patient's benefit plan.
  • CO-50 (These are non-covered services because this is not deemed a 'medical necessity' by the payer.): The service isn't medically necessary, which is a clinical finding rather than a comfort classification.

CO-202 FAQ

What counts as a personal comfort item?

Examples commonly include a television, phone, or private room upgrade requested for convenience, as well as personal care items like cosmetics. What a payer classifies this way depends on its policy.

Can I bill the patient for CO-202?

When the group code is PR, the patient is generally responsible. Under Medicare, statutorily excluded items don't require an ABN, but giving patients advance notice of charges is still good practice. Under CO, write it off.

What if the item was medically necessary?

Some items look like comfort items but have a clinical purpose, for example a private room required for infection control. Document the medical reason and appeal, or bill it in the way the payer's policy requires.

Should comfort items be sent to the payer at all?

Many facilities bill known non-covered comfort charges directly to the patient. Some payers want all charges on the claim, though, so follow the payer's billing instructions for non-covered items.