Is G44.201 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. G44.201 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does G44.201 sit in the tabular list?

Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99), in the block Episodic and paroxysmal disorders (G40-G47).

What cannot be coded together with G44.201?

G44.201 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above G44.201 (G44) and apply to it just the same.

G44.201

G44.201 — Tension-type headache, unspecified, intractable

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

G44.201 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for tension-type headache, unspecified, intractable. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above G44.201

These are not written on G44.201, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing G44.201 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on G44 — Other headache syndromes

headache NOS (R51.9)

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above G44.201

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of G44.201, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on G44 — Other headache syndromes

atypical facial pain (G50.1)
headache due to lumbar puncture (G97.1)
migraines (G43.-)
trigeminal neuralgia (G50.0)

Risk adjustment

G44.201 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

G44.201 is named in 6 Medicare coverage policies — 6 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A56612Billing and Coding: CT of the Head
A57701Billing and Coding: Trigger Point Injections (TPI)
A59480Billing and Coding: Trigger Point Injections (TPI)
A59487Billing and Coding: Trigger Point Injections (TPI)

How G44.201 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 G44.201.

Headache›tension›intractable
Tension›headache›intractable

Code history

G44.201 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 G44.20. If G44.201 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

G44.209Tension-type headache, unspecified, not intractable

Questions about G44.201

Is G44.201 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. G44.201 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does G44.201 sit in the tabular list?: Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99), in the block Episodic and paroxysmal disorders (G40-G47).
What cannot be coded together with G44.201?: G44.201 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above G44.201 (G44) and apply to it just the same.