Is J39.2 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. J39.2 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does J39.2 sit in the tabular list?

Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Other diseases of upper respiratory tract (J30-J39).

What cannot be coded together with J39.2?

J39.2 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 J39.2 (J39) and apply to it just the same.

J39.2

J39.2 — Other diseases of pharynx

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

J39.2 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for other diseases of pharynx. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Excludes2 — not included here, but may coexist

The excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient can have both. You may code both.

chronic pharyngitis (J31.2)
ulcerative pharyngitis (J02.9)

Inclusion terms

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

Cyst of pharynx
Edema of pharynx

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above J39.2

These are not written on J39.2, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing J39.2 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on J39 — Other diseases of upper respiratory tract

acute respiratory infection NOS (J22)
acute upper respiratory infection (J06.9)
upper respiratory inflammation due to chemicals, gases, fumes or vapors (J68.2)

Other codes that can never be billed with J39.2

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at J39.2. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading J39.2 alone.

R60Edema, not elsewhere classified

Risk adjustment

J39.2 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

J39.2 is named in 2 Medicare coverage policies — 2 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A56729Billing and Coding: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Head and Neck
A56868Billing and Coding: Outpatient Speech Language Pathology

How J39.2 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 J39.2.

Pharyngoplegia
Tornwaldt's cyst or disease
Atrophy, atrophic›pharynx
Bursitis›Thornwaldt, Tornwaldt
Cicatrix›hypopharynx
Cicatrix›nasopharynx
Cicatrix›pharynx
Cicatrix›throat
Cyst›hypopharynx
Cyst›nasopharynx
Cyst›pharynx(wall)
Cyst›Thornwaldt's

Code history

J39.2 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share J39. If J39.2 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about J39.2

Is J39.2 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. J39.2 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does J39.2 sit in the tabular list?: Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Other diseases of upper respiratory tract (J30-J39).
What cannot be coded together with J39.2?: J39.2 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 J39.2 (J39) and apply to it just the same.