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MA41 Remark Code: Missing or Invalid Admission Type

MA41 means the admission type, also called the priority of admission, is missing, incomplete, or invalid. The payer uses it to tell emergency, urgent, elective, newborn, and trauma admissions apart, and could not accept the value reported.

Quick facts

Code
MA41 (RARC MA41)
Status
Active In use since January 1, 1997; last modified February 28, 2003.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The facility must correct the admission type. The patient is not responsible for the returned claim.
Official description
Missing/incomplete/invalid admission type.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What MA41 means

The admission type describes how urgent the admission was. It is separate from where the patient came from (the admission source) and from when they were admitted (the admission date). MA41 says the type code was blank, not a valid code, or inconsistent with other claim details, such as a newborn type on an adult patient.

Because payers link admission type to authorization and emergency coverage rules, it deserves the same care as clinical codes.

Common causes

  • The field was left blank on an inpatient or other admission-based claim.
  • A code outside the accepted list was used.
  • A newborn type was used when the patient is not a newborn, or the reverse.
  • The admission type conflicts with the admission source or revenue codes, for instance an elective type with emergency room charges.

How to fix it

  1. Review the admitting documentation to confirm the urgency of the admission.
  2. Correct form locator 14 with a valid admission type.
  3. Check consistency with the admission source in form locator 15 and emergency room revenue codes.
  4. Resubmit the corrected claim.

How to prevent it

Default the admission type from the registration workflow, such as emergency department versus scheduled admission, and have coders review mismatches. Checking these fields before submission with a Claims Validator catches conflicts early.

Codes that may appear with MA41

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): Required claim data is missing or invalid, with MA41 identifying the admission type.
  • MA42 (Missing/incomplete/invalid admission source.): The admission source, where the patient came from, is missing or invalid.
  • MA40 (Missing/incomplete/invalid admission date.): The admission date is missing or invalid.
  • CO-40 (Charges do not meet qualifications for emergent/urgent care.): Charges do not meet qualifications for emergent or urgent care, a coverage decision rather than a data error.

MA41 FAQ

Where is the admission type reported?

Form locator 14 on the UB-04. On an 837I it is the admission type code in the institutional claim code segment.

What are the common values?

The standard National Uniform Billing Committee codes include 1 emergency, 2 urgent, 3 elective, 4 newborn, and 5 trauma. Payers may also accept an information-not-available value in limited cases.

Does the admission type affect payment?

It can. Some payers apply authorization or emergency rules based on it, so an incorrect value can cause a denial even after MA41 is resolved.