Is C44.2 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

No. C44.2 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.

Where does C44.2 sit in the tabular list?

Neoplasms (C00-D49), in the block Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin (C43-C44).

What cannot be coded together with C44.2?

C44.2 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.

C44.2

C44.2 — Other and unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of ear and external auricular canal

Non-billable headerICD-10-CMunspecified

C44.2 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for other and unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of ear and external auricular canal. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below.

Excludes1 — never code together

These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.

connective tissue of ear (C49.0)

Other codes that can never be billed with C44.2

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at C44.2. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading C44.2 alone.

C30.1Malignant neoplasm of middle ear

Risk adjustment

C44.2 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.

Code to one of these instead C44.2

4 child codes. Green means billable.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share C44. If C44.2 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about C44.2

Is C44.2 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: No. C44.2 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
Where does C44.2 sit in the tabular list?: Neoplasms (C00-D49), in the block Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin (C43-C44).
What cannot be coded together with C44.2?: C44.2 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.