Which statement best defines a clean claim?

• A. A claim with no errors that is ready for submission and reimbursement.
• B. A claim with minor issues that still might be paid.
• C. A claim that is submitted only electronically.
• D. A claim that is delayed for review.

Answer: (A)

A clean claim means the claim has all required data and is free of errors, so it can be processed and paid without needing corrections. This requires accurate patient and provider identifiers, service dates, codes (CPT/HCPCS and diagnosis), units, modifiers when needed, and other payer-specific fields. When a claim is clean, it’s ready for adjudication and reimbursement with no back-and-forth requests for extra information.

If there are any issues—missing fields, incorrect codes, mismatches between diagnoses and procedures, or other data errors—the claim isn’t clean and would typically be returned or denied for correction. Submitting electronically isn’t by itself a measure of cleanliness, and a claim delayed for review signals problems that prevent it from being clean, even though it may later be resolved. The key idea is completeness and accuracy that allows immediate processing and payment.