J38.02 — Paralysis of vocal cords and larynx, bilateral
J38.02 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for paralysis of vocal cords and larynx, bilateral. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Risk adjustment
J38.02 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
J38.02 is named in 22 Medicare coverage policies — 22 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A52866Billing and Coding: Speech-Language Pathology
- A53052Billing and Coding: Home Health Speech-Language Pathology
- A54095Billing and Coding: Nerve Conduction Studies and Electromyography
- A54111Billing and Coding: Speech Language Pathology (SLP) Services: Communication Disorders
How J38.02 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 J38.02.
- Laryngoplegia›bilateral
- Gerhardt's›syndrome›bilateral
- Paralysis, paralytic›glottis›bilateral
- Paralysis, paralytic›laryngeal nerve›bilateral
- Paralysis, paralytic›larynx›bilateral
- Paralysis, paralytic›vocal cords›bilateral
- Compression›laryngeal nerve, recurrent›with paralysis of vocal cords and larynx›bilateral
Related codes at this level
Codes that share J38.0. If J38.02 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about J38.02
- Is J38.02 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. J38.02 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does J38.02 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Other diseases of upper respiratory tract (J30-J39).