CO-233Contractual ObligationContractual
CO-233 Denial Code: Hospital-acquired condition / preventable error
Charges related to treating a hospital-acquired condition or preventable medical error aren't payable — the HAC payment policy.
Why CO-233 happens
- ●HAC diagnosis without present-on-admission (POA) indicator support
- ●Never-event related services billed
How to fix a CO-233 denial
- 1
Audit POA coding — if the condition was present on admission, correct POA indicators and rebill
- 2
True HACs: absorb per policy; patient cannot be billed
How to prevent it
POA indicator accuracy at coding is the whole game here.
Drowning in CO-233 denials?
OakClaim works every denial within 48 hours and builds prevention rules so they stop recurring.