OA-148: Incomplete or Missing Information from Another Provider

What Does OA-148 Mean?

OA-148 may appear when the missing information issue is treated as an administrative adjustment rather than a contractual obligation. The practical effect is similar to CO-148 — the provider needs to obtain the missing documentation and resubmit — but the OA designation indicates the payer is treating it as a general adjustment outside the contractual framework.

CARC 148 appears on your remittance when the payer has determined that documentation from another healthcare provider — such as a referring physician, consulting specialist, or treating provider — was either not included with the claim or was incomplete. This is not a coverage denial or a medical necessity dispute. The payer is telling you that they cannot adjudicate the claim because they need information that should have come from a different provider involved in the patient's care.

The most common trigger is a missing referral letter or consultation report. When a patient is referred from one provider to another, the receiving provider is typically responsible for ensuring that the referring provider's documentation accompanies the claim. If that documentation is absent — whether because the referring provider never sent it, or it was lost in the handoff — the payer will return the claim with CARC 148. Other frequent causes include incomplete medical records from a collaborating provider, missing prior authorization documentation that the ordering provider obtained but did not share, and gaps in communication during the referral process.

From a workflow perspective, CARC 148 is a correctable denial. The claim itself is not being rejected on its merits — the payer simply needs more information to process it. Pay close attention to the accompanying RARC codes, which will specify exactly what information is missing. The fix is to obtain the missing documentation from the other provider, attach it to the claim, and resubmit.

How to Resolve

Identify what information from the other provider is missing, obtain it, and resubmit the claim with complete documentation.

1. Review the denial details Check the ERA and RARC codes to understand exactly what information is missing from the other provider.
2. Obtain and resubmit Contact the other provider, obtain the missing information, and resubmit the claim with complete documentation.

How to Prevent OA-148

• Follow the same documentation collection and verification processes as for CO-148 denials
• Ensure all inter-provider documentation is collected before initial claim submission

Also Filed As

The same CARC 148 may appear with different Group Codes:

Related Denial Codes