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CO-B14 Denial Code: One Visit per Physician per Day

CO-B14 means the payer covers only one visit or consultation per physician per day, and it denied an additional visit billed for the same patient on the same date. Combining the visits, or showing they were separately identifiable where the payer allows, is usually the fix.

Quick facts

Code
CO-B14 (CARC B14)
Status
Active In use since January 1, 1995; last modified September 30, 2007.
Code set
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The usual group. The provider absorbs the denied visit and can't bill the patient for it.
Official description
Only one visit or consultation per physician per day is covered.
X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What CO-B14 means

CARC B14 says only one visit or consultation per physician per day is covered. When two visits or consultations for the same patient on the same date come in from the same physician, or from physicians the payer treats as one, the payer pays one and denies the other with CO-B14.

Payers apply this rule because evaluation and management services are meant to capture all of the work a physician does for a patient during a day. If the patient is seen in the morning and returns in the afternoon for a related problem, the combined work is usually reported as one visit.

Many payers extend the rule to physicians of the same specialty in the same group, since they bill under the same TIN and are treated as a single provider for this purpose. Rules for different specialties vary.

Common causes

  • Two visits billed for the same day by one physician, such as a morning and afternoon visit.
  • Same-specialty physicians in a group each billing a visit on the same date.
  • Hospital visits billed by more than one physician in the same group and specialty on the same day.
  • Consultation and follow-up billed separately on the same date.
  • Date of service errors that put two visits on one day.

How to fix it

  1. Check both visits’ dates and providers. Confirm the second visit wasn’t a date entry error.
  2. If the visits were related, combine the documentation and bill one visit at the level supported by the total work. Send a corrected claim with resubmission code 7 in box 22.
  3. If different specialties were involved, make sure each rendering provider and taxonomy is correct, then resubmit.
  4. If the payer allows separate same-day visits for distinct problems, appeal with documentation showing each encounter.
  5. Don’t bill the patient for the denied visit.

How to prevent it

  • Flag same-day visits in charge review before claims are sent.
  • Set group rules for hospital rounding so only one same-specialty physician bills per day, or visits are combined.
  • Keep payer policies on same-day services handy for staff.
  • Scrub claims for same-day conflicts. A Claims Validator check can catch two visits for one patient, physician, and date.

Specialty notes

Hospitalist and inpatient groups see CO-B14 when physicians of the same specialty hand off a patient mid-day and both bill. Integrated care practices should check how each payer treats same-day medical and behavioral health visits.

Remark codes that may appear with CO-B14

  • N20 (Service not payable with other service rendered on the same date.): The service isn't payable with another service rendered on the same date.
  • M80 (Not covered when performed during the same session/date as a previously processed service for the patient.): Not covered when performed on the same date as a previously processed service.
  • M13 (Only one initial visit is covered per specialty per medical group.): Only one initial visit is covered per specialty per medical group, a related limit.
  • CO-97 (The benefit for this service is included in the payment/allowance for another service/procedure that has already been adjudicated.): The visit was bundled into a procedure or another service paid on the same day.
  • CO-B13 (Previously paid.): Previously paid, when the payer believes the visit was already paid on another claim.
  • OA-18 (Exact duplicate claim/service (Use only with Group Code OA except where state workers' compensation regulations requires CO)): An exact duplicate of a visit already received.
  • CO-151 (Payment adjusted because the payer deems the information submitted does not support this many/frequency of services.): The number or frequency of services isn't supported.

CO-B14 FAQ

Can a patient have two visits with the same physician on one day?

Payers generally expect one visit per physician per day. If the patient was seen twice for related reasons, combine the work into a single visit at the level supported by the combined documentation.

Does CO-B14 apply to physicians in the same group?

Many payers treat physicians of the same specialty in the same group as one physician for this purpose. Visits by different specialties may be payable separately, depending on the payer.

Is modifier 25 relevant to CO-B14?

Modifier 25 is for a significant, separately identifiable visit on the same day as a procedure or other service. It isn't a way to bill two ordinary visits by the same physician on one date.

What about a visit and a separate behavioral health service on the same day?

Some payers allow a medical visit and a behavioral health visit on the same date when they're by different providers or distinct services. Check the payer's same-day billing policy.