What is the difference between the electronic remittance advice (ERA) and the paper remittance advice (RA)?
The ERA consists of two transactions: the 835 claim payment/advice transaction and the 277 pending (unsolicited) claim status transaction. These two transactions provide information on paid claims, adjusted claims, refunds, and pending claims payments. The ERA transactions and the 277 unsolicited claims status are intended to be used as an aid to account balancing and direct posting to patient accounts. The unsolicited claim status transaction is not a HIPAA-mandated transaction. Providers are not mandated to implement this transaction. However, if a provider elects to receive an 835 transaction, the 277 transaction will be created automatically for that provider when there are pending claims on file. Providers may elect to ignore the unsolicited 277. The paper RA also provides information on claims payment but includes a greater level of detail on claim denials. All providers will continue to receive the paper version of the RA, even if they choose to receive the ERA transactions.
Related Questions
- If an electronic remittance advice (ERA) can have a different NPI than submitted on the claim, how can I tell which claim the ERA is responding to?
- Is the NPI from the claim included on the payees electronic remittance advice (ERA), or does Aetna derive the NPI from its internal database?
- What is the difference between the electronic remittance advice (ERA) and the paper remittance advice (RA)?
