F80.9 — Developmental disorder of speech and language, unspecified
F80.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for developmental disorder of speech and language, unspecified. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Communication disorder NOS
- Language disorder NOS
Other codes that can never be billed with F80.9
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at F80.9. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading F80.9 alone.
- R47Speech disturbances, not elsewhere classified
Risk adjustment
F80.9 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
F80.9 is named in 10 Medicare coverage policies — 9 listing it as supporting medical necessity, and 1 listing it as NOT covered. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A52434Health and Behavior Assessment/Intervention – Medical Policy Articlenot covered
- A54111Billing and Coding: Speech Language Pathology (SLP) Services: Communication Disorders
- A56868Billing and Coding: Outpatient Speech Language Pathology
- A56937Billing and Coding: Psychiatry and Psychology Services
How F80.9 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 F80.9.
- Disorder›communication
- Disorder›language(developmental)
- Problem›communication(developmental)
- Problem›language(developmental)
- Defect, defective›speech›developmental
- Delay, delayed›development›language
- Delay, delayed›development›speech
- Development›delayed›speech
- Disorder›developmental›language
- Disorder›developmental›speech
- Disorder›specific›speech and language
- Disorder›speech›developmental
Code history
F80.9 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share F80. If F80.9 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about F80.9
- Is F80.9 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. F80.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does F80.9 sit in the tabular list?
- Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders (F01-F99), in the block Pervasive and specific developmental disorders (F80-F89).