M46.53 — Other infective spondylopathies, cervicothoracic region
M46.53 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for other infective spondylopathies, cervicothoracic region. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Risk adjustment
M46.53 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
M46.53 is named in 13 Medicare coverage policies — 7 listing it as supporting medical necessity, and 6 listing it as NOT covered. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A58865Billing and Coding: Amniotic and Placental-Derived Product Injections and/or Applications for Musculoskeletal Indications, Non-Woundnot covered
- A58893Billing and Coding: Amniotic and Placental-Derived Product Injections and/or Applications for Musculoskeletal Indications, Non-Woundnot covered
- A59374Billing and Coding: Amniotic and Placental-Derived Product Injections and/or Applications for Musculoskeletal Indications, Non-Woundnot covered
- A59434Billing and Coding: Amniotic and Placental-Derived Product Injections and/or Applications for Musculoskeletal Indications, Non-Woundnot covered
How M46.53 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 M46.53.
- Spondylopathy›infective NEC›cervicothoracic region
Related codes at this level
Codes that share M46.5. If M46.53 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
- M46.50Other infective spondylopathies, site unspecified
- M46.51Other infective spondylopathies, occipito-atlanto-axial region
- M46.52Other infective spondylopathies, cervical region
- M46.54Other infective spondylopathies, thoracic region
- M46.55Other infective spondylopathies, thoracolumbar region
- M46.56Other infective spondylopathies, lumbar region
- M46.57Other infective spondylopathies, lumbosacral region
- M46.58Other infective spondylopathies, sacral and sacrococcygeal region
- M46.59Other infective spondylopathies, multiple sites in spine
Questions about M46.53
- Is M46.53 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. M46.53 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does M46.53 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99), in the block Spondylopathies (M45-M49).