J15.21 — Pneumonia due to staphylococcus aureus
J15.21 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for pneumonia due to staphylococcus aureus. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below.
Excludes1 inherited from the categories above J15.21
These are not written on J15.21, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing J15.21 with anything listed here is a denial.
Other codes that can never be billed with J15.21
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at J15.21. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading J15.21 alone.
- Z16Resistance to antimicrobial drugs
Risk adjustment
J15.21 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.
The condition this code belongs to
Every code for the condition on one page, which one applies when, and the mistake coders make with it.
Code history
J15.21 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.
Code to one of these instead J15.21
2 child codes. Green means billable.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share J15.2. If J15.21 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about J15.21
- Is J15.21 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. J15.21 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does J15.21 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18).
- What cannot be coded together with J15.21?
- J15.21 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 J15.21 (J15) and apply to it just the same.