MCMedicalCodingSoftware
J44

J44Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Non-billable headerICD-10-CM

J44 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below.

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.

  • bronchiectasis (J47.-)
  • chronic bronchitis NOS (J42)
  • chronic simple and mucopurulent bronchitis (J41.-)
  • chronic tracheitis (J42)
  • chronic tracheobronchitis (J42)
  • emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-)

Code also

Both codes may be needed to describe the encounter fully. Sequencing depends on the reason for the visit.

  • type of asthma, if applicable (J45.-)

Includes

Conditions this code covers.

  • asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • chronic asthmatic (obstructive) bronchitis
  • chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction
  • chronic bronchitis with emphysema
  • chronic emphysematous bronchitis
  • chronic obstructive asthma
  • chronic obstructive bronchitis
  • chronic obstructive tracheobronchitis

Other codes that can never be billed with J44

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at J44. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading J44 alone.

  • J21.9Acute bronchiolitis, unspecified
  • J42Unspecified chronic bronchitis

Risk adjustment

J44 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

J44 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 J44

4 child codes. Green means billable.

Questions about J44

Is J44 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
No. J44 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
Where does J44 sit in the tabular list?
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J4A).
ICD-10-CMFY2026-Apr· effective April 1, 2026

Loaded directly from the CMS/NCHS ICD-10-CM public-domain release — see data sources and our editorial policy. If this page disagrees with the CMS tabular list, this page is wrong. Reference information for professional coders; not medical or billing advice.