J44.1 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation
J44.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation. 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.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Decompensated COPD
- Decompensated COPD with (acute) exacerbation
Risk adjustment
J44.1 risk-adjusts. Under the CMS-HCC V28 model it maps to this category:
- HCC 280 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Interstitial Lung Disorders, and Other Chronic Lung Disorders0.319 RAF
Coefficient shown for the Community Non-dual Aged segment. A higher HCC in the same hierarchy will suppress this one, so capturing it does not always add score.
Medicare coverage
J44.1 is named in 39 Medicare coverage policies — 37 listing it as supporting medical necessity, and 2 listing it as NOT covered. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A56566Billing and Coding: Outpatient Physical and Occupational Therapy Servicesnot covered
- A57067Billing and Coding: Outpatient Physical and Occupational Therapy Servicesnot covered
- A52466Nebulizers - Policy Article
- A52466Nebulizers - Policy Article
How J44.1 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 J44.1.
- Asthma, asthmatic›chronic obstructive›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Disease, diseased›lung›obstructive›decompensated
- Disease, diseased›pulmonary›chronic obstructive›decompensated
- Asthma, asthmatic›with›chronic obstructive bronchitis›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Asthma, asthmatic›with›chronic obstructive pulmonary disease›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Bronchitis›asthmatic›chronic›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Disease, diseased›pulmonary›chronic obstructive›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Disease, diseased›lung›obstructive›decompensated›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Disease, diseased›lung›obstructive›with›acute›exacerbation NEC
- Disease, diseased›pulmonary›chronic obstructive›decompensated›with›exacerbation(acute)
- Disease, diseased›lung›obstructive›with›bronchitis›with›exacerbation(acute)
Related codes at this level
Codes that share J44. If J44.1 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about J44.1
- Is J44.1 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. J44.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does J44.1 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), in the block Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J4A).