Aetna Billing & Coverage Reference

Aetna Payer ID

Use this ID in loop 2010BB of the 837 when submitting Aetna claims electronically.

• •Electronic payer ID: 60054
• •Network: Stedi
• •Payer IDs are assigned per clearinghouse. Confirm this ID against your own clearinghouse's payer list before submitting - a wrong ID is rejected at the clearinghouse, not adjudicated.

Source: Stedi payer network directory. Verify with Aetna before relying on this for a claim.

Aetna Timely Filing Limit

The Aetna filing limits below cover the plan types Rette has verified. Aetna may operate other lines of business with different deadlines - confirm yours before relying on this.

• •Commercial — New York providers (state-mandated rule in Aetna's Provider Manual State Supplement; applies unless contract or law sets a more favorable time frame): 120 days from date of service.

Source: Aetna Provider Manual — State Supplement (7/26), New York section, Claims practices: provider claims submission time period, p. 33, retrieved August 17, 2026. Verify with Aetna before relying on this for a claim.

Key Aetna billing terms

Aetna writes dental, medical, vision coverage in NATIONAL. This page draws on 1099 indexed Aetna policy documents; every figure quoted below is linked back to the document it came from, and nothing is asserted that a source cannot support.

Payer ID

The electronic routing number that identifies Aetna to a clearinghouse. Submitting a claim with the wrong payer ID is one of the most common causes of a claim never reaching the payer at all - it rejects at the clearinghouse rather than denying, so it may never appear in your denial queue.

Timely filing limit

The window, counted from the date of service, within which Aetna will accept an initial claim. Filing past the limit is one of the few denials with no clinical defense - the claim is denied on receipt regardless of medical necessity. Limits differ by plan type and by whether you are in-network, so a single number rarely covers every Aetna product.

Prior authorization

Approval obtained from Aetna before a service is rendered. Requirements vary by CPT/HCPCS code, place of service, and plan. A service performed without a required authorization is typically denied as a provider write-off, meaning the balance usually cannot be billed to the patient.

Appeal deadline

The window for disputing a Aetna determination, counted from the remittance date rather than the date of service. Missing it usually forecloses the appeal entirely, so the deadline is worth calendaring the day the remittance posts.

How to verify Aetna coverage before you bill

1. 1

   Confirm eligibility and the specific plan

   Aetna is a payer, not a single benefit design. Coverage rules, prior-authorization lists, and filing windows differ across its commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid products. Verify which plan the member actually holds before applying any rule you looked up.

2. 2

   Find the coverage policy for the exact code

   Coverage is decided per CPT/HCPCS code, not per procedure name. Search the Aetna policy for the specific code you intend to bill, including the modifier where one changes the coverage story.

3. 3

   Check whether prior authorization is required

   Authorization requirements are code-and-place-of-service specific, and they change. Confirm the requirement for the date of service you are billing, not the date you are checking.

4. 4

   Run the code pair through NCCI edits

   Before billing two codes together, check the NCCI Procedure-to-Procedure edit and the Medically Unlikely Edit unit cap. A bundling edit that is not resolved with an appropriate modifier produces a denial that looks clinical but is purely a coding-edit problem.

5. 5

   Document medical necessity against the policy's own criteria

   When a policy lists coverage criteria, the documentation should address those criteria in the policy's own terms. An appeal grounded in the payer's published policy is materially stronger than one arguing general clinical merit.

6. 6

   Submit inside the filing window and calendar the appeal date

   Track the filing deadline from the date of service and, once a remittance posts, the appeal deadline from the remittance date. Both are absolute in a way clinical arguments are not.

Why Aetna claims get denied

The themes below are the ones that drive most A/R work. Each links to the CARC code that carries it on the remittance.

• Missing or invalid information — CO-16

  The claim reached Aetna but could not be adjudicated as submitted - a missing modifier, an incomplete field, or a required attachment. These are usually correctable and resubmittable rather than appealable.

• Prior authorization absent — CO-197

  The service required authorization that was not obtained, or the authorization on file does not match the code or date billed.

• Not medically necessary under the policy — CO-50

  Aetna applied a coverage policy and concluded the documentation did not meet its criteria. This is the denial most often overturned on appeal, because the argument is against a published standard you can read and answer point by point.

• Bundling and code-pair edits — CO-97

  The code is considered part of another service billed the same day. Resolvable when an NCCI modifier genuinely applies, and not when it does not.

• Filed past the deadline — CO-29

  The claim arrived after the filing window closed. Rarely recoverable absent documented proof of timely submission.

• Wrong payer or member not covered — CO-109

  The claim went to Aetna but the member's benefits sit elsewhere on that date of service - a different carrier, a different contractor, or a plan that had already terminated. Usually a front-desk eligibility problem rather than a billing one.

• Another payer should pay first — CO-22

  Coordination of benefits puts a different carrier in the primary position. The claim generally has to be worked through the primary payer before Aetna will consider it.

Coverage Types

Operating States

Common Aetna Policy Searches

• Aetna frequency limits for prophylaxis D1110
• Aetna prior authorization requirements for crowns
• Aetna missing tooth clause and waiting periods
• Aetna appeal process for denied claims

Aetna Billing FAQ

What is the Aetna timely filing limit?

Commercial — New York providers (state-mandated rule in Aetna's Provider Manual State Supplement; applies unless contract or law sets a more favorable time frame): 120 days from date of service. Source: Aetna Provider Manual — State Supplement (7/26), New York section, Claims practices: provider claims submission time period, p. 33, retrieved August 17, 2026. Confirm with Aetna before relying on this for a claim near its deadline.

What is the Aetna payer ID?

Aetna electronic claims use payer ID 60054 on the Stedi network. Enter it in loop 2010BB of the 837. Payer IDs are assigned per clearinghouse, so confirm it against your own clearinghouse's payer list.

How do I find Aetna prior authorization requirements?

Search Rette for the CPT code plus "Aetna prior authorization" (for example, "Does Aetna require prior auth for CPT 29881?"). Rette searches the 1099 indexed Aetna policy documents and answers with the specific criteria, citing the source policy.

How many Aetna policies does Rette index?

Rette indexes 1099 Aetna policy documents covering dental, medical, vision coverage. The index was last updated September 3, 2026.

Which states does Aetna operate in?

Aetna operates in NATIONAL.

How do I appeal a denied Aetna claim?

Look up the denial code on Rette to decode the denial reason, then draft an appeal grounded in Aetna's own coverage policy. Appeal deadlines and submission instructions are listed on your Aetna EOB or remittance advice.

Where can I verify Aetna policies directly?

Always verify coverage decisions with Aetna before billing - the official Aetna website is https://www.aetna.com.

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