Is J15.9 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. J15.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does J15.9 sit in the tabular list?

Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18).

J15.9

J15.9 — Unspecified bacterial pneumonia

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

J15.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for unspecified bacterial pneumonia. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

Pneumonia due to gram-positive bacteria

Risk adjustment

J15.9 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

J15.9 is named in 11 Medicare coverage policies — 11 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A52466Nebulizers - Policy Article
A52466Nebulizers - Policy Article
A52466Nebulizers - Policy Article
A52466Nebulizers - Policy Article

How J15.9 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 J15.9.

Pneumonia›bacillus
Pneumonia›bacterial
Pneumonia›broncho-, bronchial›bacterial
Pneumonia›lobar›bacterial
Pneumonia›aspiration›due to›aspiration of microorganisms›bacterial

Related codes at this level

Codes that share J15. If J15.9 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about J15.9

Is J15.9 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. J15.9 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does J15.9 sit in the tabular list?: Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18).