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N47 Remark Code: Conflicts With Another Inpatient Stay

N47 means the claim conflicts with another inpatient stay on the payer's records. The dates of service overlap an inpatient admission, so the payer will not pay the claim as submitted.

Quick facts

Code
N47 (RARC N47)
Status
Active In use since January 1, 2000.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The service is denied because of the overlap. The provider must resolve it and cannot shift it to the patient while the conflict is correctable.
  • OA (Other Adjustment): Some payers report the overlap as another adjustment, meaning the claim cannot be processed until the conflict is resolved.
Official description
Claim conflicts with another inpatient stay.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N47 means

Payers check whether a patient is already recorded as an inpatient somewhere when your claim’s dates come in. If they find an overlapping inpatient stay, whether at your facility or another, they return N47. The payer is not judging the service itself; it is saying the dates cannot coexist with the stay it already has on file.

N47 may appear with CARC 16 or CARC 96, and with CARC 60 when outpatient services fall inside a payment window around the admission.

Common causes

  • A skilled nursing, home health, or outpatient claim includes days when the patient was admitted to a hospital.
  • A professional claim used an office or outpatient place of service for a patient who was an inpatient.
  • Two facilities reported overlapping dates around a transfer.
  • The inpatient claim on file has incorrect admission or discharge dates.
  • A readmission or interim bill created an apparent overlap.

What to do

  1. Ask the payer for the conflicting stay details, such as facility and dates.
  2. Check your records for when the patient left and returned, including the discharge day.
  3. Remove or correct overlapping dates and send a corrected claim, billing only services outside the inpatient stay.
  4. Fix place of service on professional claims if the patient was an inpatient (box 24B).
  5. Work with the other facility if its dates are wrong, and ask the payer to reprocess once corrected.

How to prevent it

Confirm current admissions through eligibility tools before billing services for patients who move between care settings. Share transfer and discharge dates promptly with partner facilities, and have clinical staff document exact departure and return times.

Codes that may appear with N47

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): The claim has a billing error, here dates that conflict with an inpatient stay.
  • CO-96 (Non-covered charge(s).): The charge is not payable as billed because of the overlapping stay.
  • CO-60 (Charges for outpatient services are not covered when performed within a period of time prior to or after inpatient services.): Outpatient services within a period before or after an inpatient stay are not covered separately.
  • MA133 (Claim overlaps inpatient stay.): The claim overlaps an inpatient stay; rebill only services outside the stay.
  • M2 (Not paid separately when the patient is an inpatient.): The service is not paid separately when the patient is an inpatient.
  • N43 (Bed hold or leave days exceeded.): Bed hold or leave days were exceeded, which can be connected to a resident's hospital stay.

N47 FAQ

Can N47 happen on a professional claim?

Yes. A physician service may be denied if it was billed with an outpatient or office place of service while the patient was an inpatient. Correcting the place of service often resolves it.

What if the other stay is wrong?

If the other facility billed incorrect dates, the payer's record needs to be corrected. Contact that facility and the payer; your claim can then be reprocessed.

Can two facilities bill for the same days?

Generally a patient can be an inpatient in only one place at a time. Transfers, discharge days, and leave arrangements have specific rules, so check how the payer handles them.