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N347 Remark Code: Purchased Service Already Paid

N347 means the payer won't pay your claim for a referred or purchased service because a payment contractor working for the payer already paid another provider for the same service.

Quick facts

Code
N347 (RARC N347)
Status
Active In use since March 30, 2005.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The service was denied because it was already paid to someone else. The provider cannot bill the patient for it; any dispute is with the payer or the other provider.
  • OA (Other Adjustment): Some payers report the already-paid amount as an other adjustment. Treat it as a duplicate-payment finding, not a patient balance.
Official description
Your claim for a referred or purchased service cannot be paid because payment has already been made for this same service to another provider by a payment contractor representing the payer.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N347 means

Some services pass through more than one set of hands. A physician may purchase a diagnostic test from an outside lab or imaging center, or a patient may be referred to a vendor that works for the health plan. When two parties bill for the same service, the payer pays one. N347 tells you it already paid the other party, through a payment contractor acting on the payer’s behalf, so your claim is denied.

N347 often appears with CARC B20 (service furnished by another provider), B13 (previously paid), or CARC 18 when the payer treats it as a duplicate.

Common causes

  • The performing lab or imaging center billed the payer’s contracted vendor directly, and the ordering practice billed the same service as a purchased service.
  • The patient’s plan routes certain services, such as lab or radiology, through a benefits management company that pays network providers directly.
  • A referred provider billed while the referring practice also billed under a purchase arrangement.
  • Arrangements changed and both parties thought they were the billing entity.

What to do

  1. Identify the other claim. Ask the payer who was paid, on what date, and through which contractor.
  2. Review your arrangement. Check the purchase agreement or referral terms to see who is supposed to bill the payer for this patient’s plan.
  3. If you should not have billed, write off or void the claim and don’t bill the patient.
  4. If you should have been paid, request a reopening or appeal with the purchase invoice and documentation, and ask the payer to recover the payment from the other provider.
  5. Coordinate with the other provider so future claims for the same plan go to one entity.

How to prevent it

Before ordering purchased or referred services, check whether the patient’s plan uses a benefits vendor for that service type. Keep a payer-by-payer list of which services must be billed by the performing provider, and agree in writing with partners who bills what.

Codes that may appear with N347

  • CO-B20 (Procedure/service was partially or fully furnished by another provider.): The procedure or service was partially or fully furnished by another provider.
  • CO-B13 (Previously paid.): Payment may already have been made for this claim or service.
  • OA-18 (Exact duplicate claim/service (Use only with Group Code OA except where state workers' compensation regulations requires CO)): An exact duplicate claim or service, when the payer considers the two claims identical.
  • N472 (Payment for this service has been issued to another provider.): Says payment for the service has been issued to another provider, without the referred or purchased context.
  • N283 (Missing/incomplete/invalid purchased service provider identifier.): Addresses a missing or invalid purchased service provider identifier.
  • M133 (Claim did not identify who performed the purchased diagnostic test or the amount you were charged for the test.): Used when the claim does not identify who performed a purchased diagnostic test or what was charged.

N347 FAQ

What is a purchased service?

It is a service, often a diagnostic test's technical or interpretive component, that one provider buys from another and then bills. The rules for who may bill it vary by payer.

Can I appeal N347?

If you believe you are the provider entitled to payment, you can ask for a reopening or appeal with documentation showing who performed or purchased the service. Otherwise, work it out with the provider who was paid.

Does N347 mean my claim was a duplicate?

Not exactly. The other claim came from a different provider, paid through a contractor representing the payer, such as a benefits manager or network vendor.