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N700 Remark Code: EHR Incentive Program Adjustment

N700 means the payment was adjusted under the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, often called meaningful use. Eligible professionals who didn't demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology faced reductions to their Medicare payments.

Code: N700 (RARC N700)
Status: Active In use since March 1, 2014.
Code set: Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes: CO (Contractual Obligation): The EHR program reduction is absorbed by the provider and can't be passed to the patient.
Official description: Payment adjusted based on the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified: September 24, 2026 against the official X12 list.

What N700 means

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program was created to encourage adoption of certified electronic health record technology. In its early years it paid incentives; later, eligible professionals who didn’t demonstrate meaningful use faced a downward adjustment to Medicare Physician Fee Schedule payments in a subsequent payment year. N700 identifies that adjustment on the remittance.

The service itself was covered and paid. The reduction reflected the provider’s program status, not anything about the individual claim.

What happened to the program

For clinicians, MACRA folded the EHR Incentive Program into MIPS, where EHR use is measured in the Promoting Interoperability performance category. Separate EHR-program adjustments for eligible professionals ended with the 2018 payment year, and current clinician adjustments are reported under MIPS (N807).

Reading N700 today

On remittances from the program years, N700 is a legitimate, final program adjustment.
On historical data, treat it as a payment program effect, not a claim denial.
If a payer sends N700 on a current claim, ask what program it represents, since the Medicare program for clinicians no longer applies.

What to do

Post N700 adjustments as program reductions and don’t bill them to patients. When comparing payment trends across years, separate these legacy adjustments from contractual and denial activity so year-to-year comparisons aren’t skewed. For current Medicare payment adjustments, review your MIPS feedback reports.

Codes that may appear with N700

CO-237 (Legislated/Regulatory Penalty.): A legislated or regulatory penalty, used to carry the reduction amount.

N699 (Payment adjusted based on the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)): Adjustment under the Physician Quality Reporting System.
N701 (Payment adjusted based on the Value-based Payment Modifier.): Adjustment under the Value-based Payment Modifier.
N807 (Payment adjustment based on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).): Adjustment under MIPS, which absorbed the EHR program for clinicians.

N700 FAQ

What was meaningful use?

It was the set of requirements for using certified EHR technology in ways that improve care, such as electronic prescribing and sharing information. Professionals reported against those requirements to avoid penalties.

Is the EHR Incentive Program still active?

For eligible professionals, it was replaced by the Promoting Interoperability category of MIPS. Hospitals have a separate Medicare Promoting Interoperability program with its own rules.

Why do old remittances show N700 on every Medicare line?

The reduction applied to all covered professional services paid under the fee schedule for that payment year, so it appeared on each affected line.

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