K90.49 — Malabsorption due to intolerance, not elsewhere classified
K90.49 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for malabsorption due to intolerance, not elsewhere classified. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Malabsorption due to intolerance to carbohydrate
- Malabsorption due to intolerance to fat
- Malabsorption due to intolerance to protein
- Malabsorption due to intolerance to starch
Excludes1 inherited from the categories above K90.49
These are not written on K90.49, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing K90.49 with anything listed here is a denial.
Excludes2 inherited from the categories above K90.49
Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of K90.49, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.
Other codes that can never be billed with K90.49
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at K90.49. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading K90.49 alone.
- K59Other functional intestinal disorders
Risk adjustment
K90.49 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
K90.49 is named in 16 Medicare coverage policies — 16 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A56389Billing and Coding: Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Visualization
- A56416Billing and Coding: Assays for Vitamins and Metabolic Function
- A56416Billing and Coding: Assays for Vitamins and Metabolic Function
- A56421Billing and Coding: CT of the Abdomen and Pelvis
How K90.49 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 K90.49.
- Absorption›carbohydrate, disturbance
- Absorption›fat, disturbance
- Absorption›protein, disturbance
- Absorption›starch, disturbance
- Enteropathy›protein-losing
- Intolerance›carbohydrate
- Intolerance›fat NEC
- Intolerance›food
- Intolerance›milk NEC
- Intolerance›protein
- Intolerance›starch NEC
- Malabsorption›carbohydrate
Code history
K90.49 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 K90.4. If K90.49 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about K90.49
- Is K90.49 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. K90.49 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does K90.49 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95), in the block Other diseases of the digestive system (K90-K95).
- What cannot be coded together with K90.49?
- K90.49 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 K90.49 (K90) and apply to it just the same.