Skip to main content

CO-84 Denial Code (Deactivated): Capital Adjustment

CO-84 reported a capital adjustment on an institutional claim, tied to the capital portion of an inpatient payment. X12 deactivated it because capital-related amounts are handled in the 835's MIA segment.

X12 deactivated CARC84 on October 16, 2003. Payers should no longer use it on new remittances, but it can still appear on older ERAs, corrected claims, and appeals.

Quick facts

Code
CO-84 (CARC 84)
Status
Deactivated StoppedOctober 16, 2003 (in use since January 1, 1995).
Code set
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): An institutional payment adjustment, not something the patient owed.
Official description
Capital Adjustment. (Handled in MIA)
X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What CO-84 meant

Medicare’s inpatient prospective payment includes a separate capital component intended to cover facility and equipment costs. CARC 84 reported adjustments to that capital portion on hospital remittances, so the hospital could see how the capital payment was calculated.

What replaced it

There is no new reason code for it. The official text says it is handled in MIA, the Inpatient Adjudication Information segment, which has dedicated fields for PPS capital amounts. Some capital-related adjustments still use their own active codes, such as CO-A5 for capital cost outliers. Other institutional payment components include CO-74 and CO-76.

If you still see CO-84

You will see it only in archived institutional remittances. For reconciliation, treat it as part of the facility’s payment calculation, not a denial. If you are auditing capital payments on current claims, read the capital fields in the MIA segment and compare them to your expected PPS calculation, then take any difference to the payer or your Medicare contractor.

  • CO-A5 (Medicare Claim PPS Capital Cost Outlier Amount.): Medicare Claim PPS capital cost outlier amount, still active.
  • CO-74 (Indirect Medical Education Adjustment.): Indirect medical education adjustment, another institutional payment component.
  • CO-76 (Disproportionate Share Adjustment.): Disproportionate share adjustment.

CO-84 FAQ

What is a capital adjustment?

Inpatient prospective payment includes a component for capital costs such as buildings and equipment. Adjustments to that component were reported with CO-84 on older remittances.

Where do capital amounts appear now?

In the Inpatient Adjudication Information (MIA) segment of the 835, which includes fields for PPS capital amounts. The code's own text notes it is handled in MIA.