835 Electronic Remittance Advice (ERAs)
An Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) contains details about payments for specific services and explanations for any adjustments or denials. The payer only sends ERAs for accepted claims. If a claim is rejected in a 277CA, there's no adjudication or payment information to report.
Transaction enrollment
Processing ERAs always requires transaction enrollment with the payer. Once you're enrolled, you'll receive all of your ERAs through Stedi, even if you submit some or all of your claims through another clearinghouse.
Review 835 ERAs
You can review 835 ERAs by filtering the full list or finding ERAs for a specific claim from its timeline.
Filter ERAs
Go to the claims view and click 835 ERAs to review all 835 ERAs in your account. Available filters include:
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Processed date | When Stedi received the ERA. |
| Trace number | The unique identifier the payer assigns to the ERA transaction. In X12 EDI, this is TRN02 (Check or EFT Trace Number).You can use this value to link the ERA with the associated payment, if applicable. For example: When the payment is remitted by check, the trace number is the check number. |
| Total paid | The total amount paid across all claims included in the ERA. |
| Payment date | When the payer issued the payment. |
| Payment method | The method used for payment (such as check or ACH). |
| Payer | Payer name, ID, or alias. Refer to the Payer Network for a complete list for each payer. |
| Payee | The payee's (billing provider's) name. Partial matching is supported. |
| Payee NPI | The payee's (billing provider's) National Provider Identifier. |
| Payee Tax ID | The payee's (billing provider's) Tax Identification Number. |
| PCN (Patient Control Number) | A claim's PCN, sometimes referred to as the claim ID. Since an ERA can contain multiple claims, this returns ERAs where any claim matches the specified PCN. This is the same value you submitted on the original claim in:
|
Find ERAs from a claim's timeline
You can also find ERAs for a specific claim from the claim's timeline:
- Go to the claims view.
- Click the associated claim to open its timeline.
- Click Find matching ERAs in the side panel under the PCN to search for ERAs that match the claim's Patient Control Number (PCN). If no ERAs match, the ERA list will be empty.
ERA details
Click an ERA to review its details. The Overview page contains key information about the ERA, including:
- Payer and payee information
- Total amount paid
- Payment date and method
- Details for all claims included in the ERA
- Adjustments applied to each claim
View X12 EDI
Click EDI at the top of the ERA details page to review the raw X12 EDI for the transaction.
The EDI is displayed on the left and the specification is displayed on the right. As you hover over different parts of the EDI, Stedi highlights the corresponding part of the specification to help you understand what each part of the EDI means.
Download ERA PDF
You can download a PDF version of an ERA from the Stedi portal:
- Go to the claims view and click 835 ERAs.
- Click the ERA to open its details page.
- Click Download PDF at the top right.
- In the download menu, select your preferences:
- Include Stedi logo in 835 ERA PDF: Adds the Stedi logo to the PDF.
- Download each claim as a separate PDF: Downloads one PDF for each claim included in the ERA. When the ERA contains multiple claims, the PDFs will be provided as a zip file. For example, if the ERA contains 5 claims, you'll download a zip file containing 5 separate PDFs.
- Click Confirm PDF download.
You can also download a PDF for each claim individually. Click the three dots to the right of a claim in the Claims section and select Download 835 ERA PDF for this claim.
Format
The PDF contains a human-readable version of the ERA, including payment details, adjustments, and explanations for each service line. It adheres to the Standard Paper Remittance (SPR) format required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
This is a PDF representation of the 835 ERA - it's not the same as an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or an Explanation of Payment (EOP) that you may receive from the payer.
- EOB: A statement from a payer explaining how a medical claim was processed, including what was covered, denied, and the remaining patient responsibility. The patient receives an EOB after a claim has been adjudicated.
- EOP: A version of the EOB for the provider. It contains more information related to how the payer has adjudicated the claim. The provider receives the EOP after claim adjudication and payment are sent.
- ERA: An electronic file that details payment and claim adjustment information. The provider receives the ERA after the payer has adjudicated the claim and issued payment, typically at the same time the funds are deposited electronically.
Duplicate ERAs
Payers typically only send one ERA per claim. However, they may occasionally retransmit another identical 835 ERA, so you should be aware of the potential for duplicates.
You can assume an ERA is a duplicate if the Check or EFT Trace Number is the same. In X12 EDI, this is available in segment TRN (Reassociation Trace Number), element TRN02 (Check or EFT Trace Number).