G51.0 — Bell's palsy
G51.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for bell's palsy. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Facial palsy
Other codes that can never be billed with G51.0
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at G51.0. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading G51.0 alone.
- R29.810Facial weakness
Risk adjustment
G51.0 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
G51.0 is named in 16 Medicare coverage policies — 16 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A53057Billing and Coding: Home Health Occupational Therapy
- A53058Billing and Coding: Home Health Physical Therapy
- A53065Billing and Coding: Outpatient Physical Therapy
- A54969Billing and Coding: Nerve Conduction Studies and Electromyography
How G51.0 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 G51.0.
- Bell's›palsy, paralysis
- Diplegia›facial
- Palsy›facial
- Paralysis, paralytic›Bell's
- Paralysis, paralytic›facial(nerve)
- Paralysis, paralytic›nerve›facial
- Paralysis, paralytic›nerve›seventh or facial
Related codes at this level
Codes that share G51. If G51.0 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about G51.0
- Is G51.0 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. G51.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does G51.0 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99), in the block Nerve, nerve root and plexus disorders (G50-G59).