K55.1 — Chronic vascular disorders of intestine
K55.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for chronic vascular disorders of intestine. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Chronic ischemic colitis
- Chronic ischemic enteritis
- Chronic ischemic enterocolitis
- Ischemic stricture of intestine
- Mesenteric atherosclerosis
- Mesenteric vascular insufficiency
Other codes that can never be billed with K55.1
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at K55.1. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading K55.1 alone.
- K56Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction without hernia
Risk adjustment
K55.1 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
K55.1 is named in 24 Medicare coverage policies — 24 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A55937Billing and Coding: Diagnostic Colonoscopy
- A56389Billing and Coding: Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Visualization
- A56394Billing and Coding: Colonoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy-Diagnostic
- A56421Billing and Coding: CT of the Abdomen and Pelvis
How K55.1 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 K55.1.
- Wilkie's disease or syndrome
- Abdomen, abdominal›angina
- Angina›abdominal
- Angina›intestinal
- Angina›mesenteric
- Arteriosclerosis, arteriosclerotic›mesenteric(artery)
- Disease, diseased›Wilkie's
- Insufficiency, insufficient›mesenteric
- Ischemia, ischemic›colon chronic(due to mesenteric artery insufficiency)
- Syndrome›Wilkie's
- Colitis›ischemic›chronic
- Colitis›ischemic›due to mesenteric artery insufficiency
Related codes at this level
Codes that share K55. If K55.1 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about K55.1
- Is K55.1 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. K55.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does K55.1 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95), in the block Other diseases of intestines (K55-K64).