G44.209 — Tension-type headache, unspecified, not intractable
G44.209 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for tension-type headache, unspecified, not intractable. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Tension headache NOS
Risk adjustment
G44.209 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
G44.209 is named in 17 Medicare coverage policies — 16 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
- A56273Billing and Coding: Chiropractic Services
- A56612Billing and Coding: CT of the Head
- A57052Billing and Coding: Psychiatric Inpatient Hospitalization
How G44.209 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 G44.209.
- Headache›tension(-type)
- Tension›headache
- Headache›tension›not intractable
- Tension›headache›not intractable
Related codes at this level
Codes that share G44.20. If G44.209 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about G44.209
- Is G44.209 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. G44.209 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does G44.209 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99), in the block Episodic and paroxysmal disorders (G40-G47).