B02.8 — Zoster with other complications
B02.8 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for zoster with other complications. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Herpes zoster otitis externa
Other codes that can never be billed with B02.8
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at B02.8. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading B02.8 alone.
- H62.4Otitis externa in other diseases classified elsewhere
Risk adjustment
B02.8 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.
Medicare coverage
B02.8 is named in 14 Medicare coverage policies — 14 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A56034Billing and Coding: Nerve Blockade for Treatment of Chronic Pain and Neuropathy
- A56607Billing and Coding: Continuous Peripheral Nerve Blocks (CPNB)
- A56651Billing and Coding: Epidural Steroid Injections for Pain Management
- A56681Billing and Coding: Epidural Steroid Injections for Pain Management
How B02.8 is indexed
Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to B02.8.
- Herpes, herpesvirus, herpetic›zoster›complicated NEC
- Herpes, herpesvirus, herpetic›zoster›specified complication NEC
- Otitis›externa›in›zoster
- Otitis›externa›in›herpes virus infection›zoster
Related codes at this level
Codes that share B02. If B02.8 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about B02.8
- Is B02.8 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. B02.8 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does B02.8 sit in the tabular list?
- Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99), in the block Viral infections characterized by skin and mucous membrane lesions (B00-B09).