US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-05, ch. 5, § 20.4.3
Operationalizing ORM for Liability, No-Fault and Workers’
Compensation Situations
(Rev. 11550; Issued: 08 -12-22; Effective: 10 -13-22; Implementation:10 -13-22)
The A/B MACs, DME MACs and shared system maintainers shall accept and process a revised
MSP 03 trailer response from CWF that will now include the 1- byte ORM indicator with valid
values.
The A/B MACs, DME MACs and shared systems shall accept and process the three (3) new
overridable utilization error codes (68xx) when returned with an 08 trailer. These 3 new error codes
will be for Liability (including self-insurance), No-Fault, and Workers’ Compensation records on
CWF. These error codes are:
6816 --“No-Fault record exists with a valid (Y) ORM indicator. A/B MAC and DME MAC
payment is not allowed.”
6817--“Workers’ Compensation record exists with a valid (Y) ORM indicator. A/B MAC and
DME MAC payment is not allowed. “
6818 - - “Liability record exists with a valid (Y) ORM indicator. A/B MAC and DME MAC
payment is not allowed.”
When determining whether to apply any of the above 3 new error codes, as applicable, CWF shall
take the following steps by referencing the MSP auxiliary file:
(1) Validate that the ORM indicator on the open MSP ORM record on CWF equals “Y”;
and
(2) Determine if the diagnosis codes on the NGHP claim match the diagnosis codes (or
match within the family of diagnosis codes) on the open MSP ORM record on CWF.
If CWF determines that any of the 68xx error codes discussed in the previous paragraph above apply,
it shall return them to the A/B MAC or DME MAC with disposition code equal to a UR. In addition,
when CWF returns any of the 68xx edits to the A/B MACs and DME MACs, CWF shall also return a
trailer 39 to the A/B MACs and DME MACs to make certain that, as applicable, they can determine
to which service detail line the 68xx edit applies.
Additionally, CWF shall ensure that error code 68xx may be overridden by A/B MACs, DME
MACs and shared systems as follows:
• Allow the 68xx to be entered in the claim header if applicable to the entire claims
on which MSP NGHP diagnosis codes do not apply; or
• Allow for individual claim service lines on which MSP NGHP diagnosis codes do not
apply to be overridden with an "N." (NOTE: In these cases, CWF shall not apply the line
level override to the entire claim but only to the identified claim service detail lines.)
The A/B MACs, DME MACs and shared systems shall accept the three (3) new overridable
utilization error codes (68xx) when returned via the 08 trailer.
When applying the 68xx editing logic to the applicable Liability, No-Fault, or Workers’
Compensation record, CWF shall ensure that open NGHP MSP records with a “Y” ORM indicator
are given precedence over another NGHP record, where all other variables except the ORM indicator
match.
A/B MACs Claims Processing Instructions
When the A/B MACs (Part A), A/B MACs (Part HHH) and shared systems deny a claim, with an
open ORM occurrence (with an indicator of “Y”), they shall create a “22” No Pay Code in the
appropriate claim line and header of their HUIP, HUOP, HUHH, HUHC claim before sending it to
CWF.
When the A/B MACs (Part B) and DME MACs and shared systems deny a claim, with an open
ORM occurrence (with an indicator of “Y”), they shall create a “22” Payment Denial indicator in the
HUBC and HUDC claim header transactions before sending them to CWF. In addition, they shall
create a “22” in the claim detail pay process field before sending the claim to CWF.
Specified CARCs to Use in Denying Claims Due to ORM
The A/B MACs, DME MACs and shared systems shall include the existing Claim Adjustment
Reason Codes (CARCs) 19, 20, and 21, as applicable, on the outbound 835 and the 837
crossover claims when denying claims due to ORM, together with CAS Group Code PR. These
three (3) CARC codes are defines as follows:
CARC 19 -- “This is a work-related injury/illness and thus the liability of the Workers’
Compensation Carrier.” [Associated Remittance Advice Remark Code (RARC) is N728.]
CARC 20 – “This injury/illness is covered by the liability carrier.” [Associated
RARC=N725.]
CARC 21 – “This injury/illness is the liability of the no-fault carrier.” [Associated
RARC=N727.]
In conjunction with the three (3) CARCs mentioned above, the A/B MACs, DME MACs and shared
systems shall make certain that the three (3) new Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARCs) for a
D, E, or L records—namely, N725, N727, and N728, —are matched up and applied to the
corresponding CARC codes for these same types of records, as appropriate.
These 3 new RARC codes shall be applied to the outbound 835 Electronic Admittance Advices
(ERAs) and 837 crossover claims when denying claims due to an ORM indicator of “Y” on an open
NGHP MSP record.
NOTE: Additionally, three (3) new Medicare Summary Notices (MSN) messages have been
developed specifically for the three (3) types of NGHP MSP ORM types of records. These will be
communicated elsewhere in the IOM.
Exceptions to Denial of Claims Policy Due to ORM
The A/B MACs, DME MACs and shared systems shall not allow or make Medicare payments on
open ORM occurrences that contain an ORM indicator of “Y,” unless the Claim Adjustment Reason
Codes (CARCs) on the claim—specifically, CARCs 26, 27, 31, 32, 35, 49, 50, 51, 53, 55, 56, 60, 96,
119, 149, 166, 167, 170, 184, 200, 204, 242, 256, B1 (if a covered Medicare visit), and B14—permit
Medicare to make a payment.
The A/B MACs, DME MACs and the shared systems shall make a payment, as appropriate, for those
services related to diagnosis codes associated with the ORM MSP Auxiliary record when the claim’s
service date falls outside the termination date on the MSP auxiliary record or deleted.
Possible A/B MAC and DME MAC Review of Suspended Claims
A/B MACs and DME MACs shall still be required, on occasion and part of normal
process/procedures, to make determinations on claims that are suspended for review with an
associated ORM occurrence if:
(1) The ORM indicator on the CWF MSP record equals “Y”; and
(2) The diagnosis codes on the NGHP claim match the diagnosis codes (or match within
the family of diagnosis codes) on the MSP ORM record on CWF.
Reopenings and Appeals for ORM Situations
In a reopening or separate claim appeal situation where the appellant or individual initiating the
reopening is stating that ORM no longer applies due to benefits exhaustion, A/B MACs and DME
MACs shall continue to follow their current procedures for determining sufficiency of the
information received as a basis for overturning or paying the claim at issue.
If an A/B MAC and DME MAC appeals or claims staff obtain an itemized schedule of payments
from a third-party payer (ORM entity) that confirms exhaustion of available benefits as of a specified
date, these individuals, together with internal MSP staff, shall take the following steps, as applicable:
• Appeals or claims staff shall contact your internal MSP personnel who regularly
submit ECRS requests to the MSP Contractor to request that they alert the MSP Contractor
that they have received documentation confirming exhaustion of benefits for a given MSP
ORM occurrence.
• MSP staff shall initiate an ECRS Assistance Request using existing action codes that
will alert the MSP Contractor that the benefits tied to a given MSP ORM occurrence have
been exhausted.
(NOTE: A third party payer letter indicating benefits were exhausted without an accompanying
itemized schedule of payments is not sufficient evidence for initiating an alert to the MSP Contractor
via the ECRS process.)
Submitting ECRS Assistance Requests to the MSP Contractor For ORM-Related Matters
When submitting the ECRS Assistance Request to the MSP Contractor, the A/B MACs and DME
MACs shall indicate this relates to an open MSP record with ORM indicator=Y and shall provide
the following:
• The name of the third-party payer; and
• A request to apply a termination date of the record that equals the benefits
exhaustion date, in accordance with the third-party payer’s itemized schedule of payment
notice.
From a claims processing scenario, should an A/B MAC and DME MAC obtain an incoming claim
that contains PR*119 (benefits exhaustion) or any of the CARCs specified in CR 8821 they shall pay
primary, in accordance with current procedures.
(NOTE: A/B MACs or DME MACs shall not initiate ECRS Assistance Requests to the MSP
Contractor in these situations.)
History
(Rev. 11550; Issued: 08 -12-22; Effective: 10 -13-22; Implementation:10 -13-22)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
51db6327225cda241035641d53bf6026f4a489c4bba8924c0d08748d3d900aab
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