Zero Payment 835

Issue

How to complete the 835 when there is $0 as the paid amount. This impacts denied bills and other bills when the entire remittance nets to a $0 payment.

Resolution

The only appropriate reporting of a $0 payment in the 835 includes:

  • BPR01 = H
  • BPR02 = 0
  • BPR04 = NON

This is true even when the eBill payment is not for predetermination of benefits.

A common but inappropriate way to report $0 payments is with BPR01=I, BPR02=0 and BPR04=CHK. This is incorrect, as the “check” for $0 is not really a check. The only correct reporting of $0 payments is as described above.

Two HIR issues from the HIPAA Implementation Guide Interpretation Request Portal ( are included here for reference.

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HIR 352

Question:

If the transaction payment amount in element BPR02 is $0, should the qualifier in BPR01 be ‘I’ for remittance information info only or ‘H’ for notification only? ‘H’ suggests there is no reference to payment but that did not seem to fitbecause we wanted to be clear that the final payment for this transaction is $0. Our 835 carriers’ remittance info without actually moving money so ‘I’ appears to fit better but this creates a problem with element BPR04. Qualifier ‘NON’ is used when no dollars are to be moved but the IG states this is used when BPR01 is ‘H’. If we can’t use ‘NON’ with ‘I’ then the only alternative id ‘CHK’ but no check is written because the payment is $0. Can ‘CHK’ be used when the payment is $0 and no check is written? If the payment is $0, is I/CHK the best fit or should we go with H/NON? Can ‘NON’ be used when ’I’ is used?

Response:

This issue is addressed in guide 004010X092.

At the BPR level ‘payment’ is defined as “the actual movement of money, not whether any specific claim is being paid”.

BPR01 code’I’ description reads “use this code to indicate to the payee that the remittance is moving separately from the payment”

The code ‘H’ description reads “use this code to pass information only without any reference to payment”.

The description for BPR04 code and ‘NON’ code reads “use this code when the Transaction Handling Code (BPR01) is ‘H’, indicating that this is

information only and that no dollars are to be moved.”

Since no money is moving, the 835 isn’t making a payment and there can not be a reference to a payment.

The required codes are BPR01=H and BPR04=NON.

Comments:

CHK can’t be used when a check is not written. That contradicts the business situation.

A combination of BPR01=I and BPR04=NON is not appropriate since one code means the remittance and money are moving separately; the other means there is no money, which is a contradiction.

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HIR #444

Question:

When BPR01 equals qualifier code ‘I’, can the provider populate BPR04 with payment method code ‘NON’? Below is an example:

BPR*I*0*C*NON******1161105741******20060827~

The payer is stating that there is no where in the HIPAA IG that indicates the ‘H’ is required when BPR04 is ‘NON’.

Response:

The code for BPR04=NON states “use this code when the Transaction Handling Code (BPR01) is H, indicating that this is an information onlytransaction and no dollars are to be moved.

The only time ’NON’ can be used is when BPR01 is H.

No other BPR01 qualifier is valid.

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