MCMCB Pro
E87.20

E87.20Acidosis, unspecified

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

E87.20 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for acidosis, unspecified. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Code also

Both codes may be needed to describe the encounter fully. Sequencing depends on the reason for the visit.

  • , if applicable, respiratory failure with hypercapnia (J96. with 5th character 2)

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

  • Lactic acidosis NOS
  • Metabolic acidosis NOS

Risk adjustment

E87.20 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

E87.20 is named in 13 Medicare coverage policies 13 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

  • A54799Billing and Coding: Urine Drug Testing
  • A55001Billing and Coding: Urine Drug Testing
  • A55672Billing and Coding: Frequency of Hemodialysis
  • A55675Billing and Coding: Frequency of Hemodialysis

How E87.20 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 E87.20.

  • Acidemia
  • Acidosis(lactic)
  • Lacticemia, excessive
  • Acidosislactic
  • Acidosismetabolic NEC
  • Disorderelectrolyte NECacidosis(lactic) (metabolic)

Related codes at this level

Codes that share E87.2. If E87.20 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about E87.20

Is E87.20 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
Yes. E87.20 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does E87.20 sit in the tabular list?
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E89), in the block Metabolic disorders (E70-E88).
ICD-10-CMFY2026-Apr· effective April 1, 2026

Loaded directly from the CMS/NCHS ICD-10-CM public-domain release — see data sources and our editorial policy. If this page disagrees with the CMS tabular list, this page is wrong. Reference information for professional coders; not medical or billing advice.