CARC Code

119

🔴 Hard Denial

Benefit Maximum Reached

The insurance plan has paid up to the maximum allowed amount for this service within the specified time period or for this particular occurrence. No additional payment will be made because the benefit limit has been exhausted.

contractual
Resolution: 20%Medium difficulty5-10 days avg

How to resolve this denial

✓ Pre-action checklist — verify before contacting the payer
  1. Review the full remittance advice (ERA/EOB) for additional RARC codes that explain the denial.

  2. Verify the claim was submitted with correct patient eligibility and benefit information.

  3. Check if this denial applies to a specific line item or the entire claim.

More about CO-119 — stats, related codes, appeal template

20%

Recovery Rate

5-10 days

Avg. Resolution

Medium

Difficulty

Occasional

Frequency

Payer-Specific Notes

How major payers handle CARC 119 by specialty.

Medicare

Medicare Part A has benefit period limits for inpatient; Part B has no annual maximum

UnitedHealthcare

Mental health visit limits (if any) must comply with parity law; escalate parity violations

Common 835 Combinations

CARC 119 most often appears with these Group Code + RARC combinations on 835 remittances.

Look up any combination →

Appeal Letter Template

Generic appeal template for CARC 119 denials.

We are requesting a review of the benefit maximum applied to claim [CLAIM_NUMBER]. Our records indicate the patient's accumulated benefit is $[YTD_AMOUNT] against a stated maximum of $[MAX]. We believe an error in accumulation tracking has occurred and request an audit of all claims processed for this member in the current benefit year.

Generate a personalized appeal letter →

Need to resolve this denial?

Get a step-by-step resolution plan with payer-specific guidance and appeal letter generation.

Resolve this denial →
Was this helpful?