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N201 Remark Code (Deactivated): Mental Health Facility Pays

N201 meant a mental health facility was responsible for paying outside providers who furnished services or supplies to its residents. X12 deactivated it and suggested N538, which applies to any facility with that responsibility.

X12 deactivated RARCN201 on January 1, 2011. Payers should no longer use it on new remittances, but it can still appear on older ERAs, corrected claims, and appeals.

Code: N201 (RARC N201)
Status: Deactivated StoppedJanuary 1, 2011 (in use since February 25, 2003).
Code set: Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes: CO (Contractual Obligation): Accompanied CO denials; the outside provider had to seek payment from the facility.
Official description: A mental health facility is responsible for payment of outside providers who furnish these services/supplies to residents.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified: September 24, 2026 against the official X12 list.

What N201 meant

Remark N201 was the mental health facility version of a familiar message: services furnished to residents by outside providers were the facility’s financial responsibility. An outside lab or supplier that billed the payer directly for a resident was told to look to the facility.

What replaced it

X12’s note suggested N538. N538 is active and covers any facility responsible for paying outside providers for services to its patients or residents, which removed the need for facility-specific remarks. The paired adjustment is often CO-97. A skilled nursing version of the message is N106.

If you still see N201

It remained in use for several years, so older claims may carry it. Confirm the patient’s residence status on the date of service and whether the service falls within what the facility covers, then invoice the facility under your agreement.

N538 (A facility is responsible for payment to outside providers who furnish these services/supplies/drugs to its patients/residents.): The suggested replacement: a facility is responsible for payment to outside providers who furnish services to its patients or residents.
CO-97 (The benefit for this service is included in the payment/allowance for another service/procedure that has already been adjudicated.): The benefit is included in the payment for another service.
N106 (Payment for services furnished to Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) inpatients (except for excluded services) can only be made to the SNF.): The SNF-specific version of the same idea.

N201 FAQ

Why would a facility pay an outside provider?

When the facility's own payment is meant to cover services its residents receive, outside providers who furnish those services bill the facility rather than the payer.

Can the resident be billed?

Generally no. The remark directs the outside provider to the facility for payment.

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