A corrected claim does not get a new filing window. Cigna, HealthSpring, UnitedHealthcare and Humana all say it has to arrive inside the same limit as the original claim, counted from the original date of service, and Aetna gives no separate window either. Medicare Part B does not take corrected claims at all: you ask for a clerical error reopening within 1 year of the initial determination.
Most billers learn this the hard way. A claim goes out on day 20, comes back denied on day 70 for a wrong modifier, sits in a work queue, and the corrected claim goes out on day 110. It is denied again, this time for timely filing, even though the first claim was early. The payer did not "restart the clock" when it denied the claim. Almost none of them do.
So the real deadline for a fix is the original deadline. The rest of this page is the detail: each payer's number, what code to use, what to do when the window has closed, and how Medicare is different.
Corrected claim limits by payer
| Payer | Corrected claim deadline | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| Cigna (commercial) | 90 days participating, 180 days out of network longer if your contract or state law says so | Original date of service |
| HealthSpring (former Cigna Medicare) | 180 days participating, 365 days out of network | Original date of service |
| UnitedHealthcare | Same days as your agreement the guide says the limit "also applies" to corrected claims | Date of service or discharge |
| Aetna (commercial) | No separate window published, so your agreement's limit | Original date of service |
| Humana Medicare Advantage | 1 year | Original date of service |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas | Same limit as the original claim: 180 days for HMO "Corrected claims must still be filed within the timely filing deadlines" | Original date of service |
| Anthem Medicare Advantage | 12 months | Original date of service |
| Texas Medicaid (TMHP) | 120 days for appeals and adjustments new claims: 95 days from the date of service | Date of the last denial or adjustment |
| New York Medicaid (eMedNY) | 60 days for corrections and adjustments outer limit: 2 years from the date of service | Date you were notified |
| Medicare Part B | No corrected claims. Clerical error reopening within 1 year | Date of the initial determination |
| Medicare Part A | Adjustment claim (bill type xx7) within 1 calendar year | Through date of service |
Every one of these can be changed by your own contract. If your provider agreement gives 120 days, you have 120 days for the original and the correction together. Pull the agreement before you write anything off.
Blue Cross plans and Medicaid differ by state. Each Blue plan and each state Medicaid program sets its own rules, so the rows above are examples. Check your own plan's manual.
One real exception at Cigna. If your original claim was on time and Cigna asked you for more information, sending what they asked for keeps the claim timely. A resubmission Cigna did not ask for, and that is not an appeal, is held to the normal 90 or 180 days.
Corrected claim deadline calculator
Pick the payer, then enter the original date of service.
Corrected, new, void or appeal?
Half of the late corrected claims we see were never meant to be corrected claims. Pick the route first:
- The claim was rejected (at the clearinghouse or the payer's front end) and never got a claim number. Fix it and send it as a new claim, frequency code 1. There is nothing to correct, because the payer never accepted it. The filing clock kept running the whole time.
- The claim was processed (paid or denied) and the mistake was yours: a code, a modifier, units, a date, a diagnosis pointer. Send a replacement, frequency code 7.
- The claim should not exist: wrong patient, billed twice, service never happened. Send a void, frequency code 8. If it then needs to be billed correctly, send a new claim after the void.
- The claim was right and the payer got it wrong: a bundling edit, the wrong fee schedule, a medical necessity denial you disagree with. That is a reconsideration or appeal, not a corrected claim. Sending a corrected claim with nothing changed usually comes back as a duplicate, CO-18.
Send us the list: payer, date of service, denial code and amount. No patient names needed. We will tell you which claims can still be fixed, which need an appeal, and which deadlines are close. Free, usually within 2 business days. Want the full picture? Get a free 90-day denial audit from your ERA files.
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How to fill in a corrected claim
The fields are the same at almost every commercial and Medicare Advantage payer:
| Claim type | Where the code goes | Original claim number |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic professional (837P) | Loop 2300, CLM05-3 = 7 or 8 | Loop 2300, REF*F8 |
| Electronic institutional (837I) | Last digit of the type of bill = 7 or 8 | Loop 2300, REF*F8 |
| Paper CMS-1500 | Box 22, resubmission code 7 or 8 | Box 22, original ref. no. |
| Paper UB-04 | Form locator 4, type of bill ending in 7 or 8 | Form locator 64 |
Three mistakes cause most corrected claim denials:
- No original claim number. Without it, the payer cannot tell which claim you are replacing, and the new one looks like a duplicate. Use the payer's claim number from the remittance, not your own internal number.
- Sending only the fixed line. A replacement claim replaces the whole original. UnitedHealthcare says this directly. If the original had four lines and you send one, the other three can be taken back.
- Changing what cannot be changed. UnitedHealthcare says a claim with a different bill type from the original is not a corrected claim. If the patient or the billing provider was wrong, void the claim and send a new one instead.
Humana told providers in June 2025 that corrected claims sent without the right frequency code may be denied. UnitedHealthcare also lets you send a corrected claim through its portal (Claims & Payments, then Act on a Claim). On paper, mark the claim clearly as corrected. The payer claim addresses page has the current PO boxes.
Medicare: reopenings, not corrected claims
Medicare is where commercial habits cause the most trouble.
Part B (professional claims). Medicare Part B contractors do not take replacement or void claims. If a processed claim has a small error, such as a wrong code, modifier, units, date, place of service or diagnosis, you ask for a clerical error reopening. Most contractors want it done through their portal, or by phone with the claim number (ICN). The deadline is 1 year from the date of the initial determination, not from the date of service. CGS also warns that sending the same claim again and again is not allowed and can get a practice referred for review. A new claim is only right when Medicare has no claim on file, or the first one was returned as unprocessable.
Some changes are too big for a reopening, for example adding or deleting claim lines, changing the billing provider, or a claim decided more than a year ago. Those go through a redetermination (the first level of appeal), which must reach Medicare within 120 days of receiving the initial determination.
Part A (institutional claims). Hospitals and facilities can send an adjustment claim with a type of bill ending in 7. CGS states that adjustment claims are held to the same 1 calendar year filing limit as the original, counted from the through date of service. After that, changes go through a reopening, where Medicare uses Q as the last digit of the type of bill.
Medicare Advantage is not Medicare. A Humana, HealthSpring or UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage claim follows that plan's rules, which do accept corrected claims with code 7. The reopening process above is only for traditional Medicare.
When the window has already closed
If the original deadline has passed, a new corrected claim will almost always be denied as late, usually as CO-29. Do not send it and hope. Use the payer's dispute route instead:
- Cigna: appeal within 180 days of the payment or denial decision.
- HealthSpring: appeal within 65 days of the original decision, or a payment reconsideration within 180 days of the payment date. Winning an appeal does not extend the 180-day window for a corrected claim, so send the correction first while you still can.
- UnitedHealthcare: claim reconsideration, then appeal, both inside 12 months of the original remittance.
- Aetna: reconsideration within 180 days of the claim decision, then appeal within 60 days.
- Humana: claim dispute within 18 months of the original decision notice.
Attach proof that the original claim was accepted on time. A clearinghouse or payer acceptance report with the date is the document that wins these. If you do not keep those reports for every claim, start today.
Questions
What is the Aetna corrected claim timely filing limit?
Aetna does not publish a separate window for corrected claims. A corrected claim has to fit inside the timely filing limit in your Aetna agreement, counted from the original date of service. If the claim was processed and you disagree with the result, a reconsideration is due within 180 calendar days of the initial claim decision.
What is the UnitedHealthcare corrected claim timely filing limit?
The same as your agreement's filing limit, counted from the date of service. UnitedHealthcare's own example: with a 90-day limit and a last date of service of May 1, the corrected claim must arrive by July 30.
Do Blue Cross Blue Shield plans give extra time for corrected claims?
Usually not. BCBS of Texas says corrected claims must still be filed within the timely filing deadline, which is 180 days from the date of service for its HMO. Anthem Medicare Advantage allows 12 months from the date of service. Check your own state's Blue plan.
Is there a separate timely filing limit for corrected claims?
Not at the big payers we checked. Cigna, HealthSpring, UnitedHealthcare and Humana all hold a corrected claim to the same filing limit as the original claim, counted from the original date of service. Aetna does not print a separate window either, so your agreement's limit applies. A few Medicaid plans do set their own resubmission windows, so check the state manual.
What is the Cigna corrected claim timely filing limit?
The same as a new claim: 90 days from the date of service for participating providers and 180 days for out-of-network providers, unless your contract or state law gives more time. The one exception is information Cigna asked you for: if the original claim was on time and you send what Cigna requested, the claim stays timely.
What is the HealthSpring corrected claim timely filing limit?
HealthSpring's 2026 manuals give corrected claims no extra time. A participating provider has 180 days from the date of service and an out-of-network provider has 365 days. Winning an appeal does not extend that window.
Can I send a corrected claim to Medicare?
Not on a professional (Part B) claim. Medicare Part B contractors do not take replacement or void claims. Small errors are fixed with a clerical error reopening, which must be requested within 1 year of the initial determination. Part A providers can send an adjustment claim (type of bill ending in 7) within 1 calendar year of the through date of service.
What is claim frequency code 7?
Code 7 means replacement of a prior claim. It goes in Loop 2300, CLM05-3 on an electronic claim, in box 22 on a CMS-1500 paper claim, or as the last digit of the type of bill on a UB-04. Code 8 means void, and code 1 means an original claim.
What happens if the corrected claim window has closed?
A new corrected claim will usually be denied as late, often with CO-29. Your route then is the payer's reconsideration or appeal process, with proof that the original claim was accepted on time. A clearinghouse acceptance report is the strongest proof you can send.
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Added October 31, 2026: Aetna, disputes and appeals; UnitedHealthcare, corrected claims; BCBS Texas CPCP025, corrected claims (Jan 8, 2025); Anthem Medicare Advantage reimbursement policy G-16001; 1 Tex. Admin. Code §354.1003; eMedNY General Billing manual.
Sources, read October 26, 2026: Cigna, "When to File" and "Electronic Claims Submission" (claim frequency codes); HealthSpring Provider Manuals 2026, participating and non-participating; 2026 UnitedHealthcare Care Provider Administrative Guide, Chapter 10 (timely filing of corrected claims, claim reconsideration and appeals); Aetna Provider Manual (claim submissions, claim disputes); Humana 2026 Provider Manual and corrected claims reminder (June 24, 2025); Noridian JF Part B, "Reopening"; CGS Part B, "Claim Resubmission/Rebilling" (April 22, 2025); CGS Part A, timely filing; CMS Transmittal 3154 (reopening frequency code Q). Your provider agreement and state law can change these limits. General information, not legal or contractual advice.