F81.9 — Developmental disorder of scholastic skills, unspecified
F81.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for developmental disorder of scholastic skills, unspecified. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Knowledge acquisition disability NOS
- Learning disability NOS
- Learning disorder NOS
Other codes that can never be billed with F81.9
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at F81.9. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading F81.9 alone.
- R48Dyslexia and other symbolic dysfunctions, not elsewhere classified
Risk adjustment
F81.9 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
F81.9 is named in 6 Medicare coverage policies — 5 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
- A56937Billing and Coding: Psychiatry and Psychology Services
- A57065Billing and Coding: Outpatient Psychiatry and Psychology Services
- A57480Billing and Coding: Psychiatry and Psychology Services
How F81.9 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 F81.9.
- Learning defect(specific)
- Disability, disabilities›knowledge acquisition
- Disability, disabilities›learning
- Disorder›learning(specific)
- Problem›learning(developmental)
- Delay, delayed›development›intellectual(specific)
- Delay, delayed›development›learning
- Development›delayed›learning skill
- Disorder›developmental›learning
- Disorder›psychogenic NOS›learning
Code history
F81.9 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 F81. If F81.9 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about F81.9
- Is F81.9 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. F81.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does F81.9 sit in the tabular list?
- Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders (F01-F99), in the block Pervasive and specific developmental disorders (F80-F89).