Is Q38.1 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. Q38.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does Q38.1 sit in the tabular list?

Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-QA0), in the block Other congenital malformations of the digestive system (Q38-Q45).

What cannot be coded together with Q38.1?

Q38.1 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 Q38.1 (Q38) and apply to it just the same.

Q38.1

Q38.1 — Ankyloglossia

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CMPOA exempt

Q38.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for ankyloglossia. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

Tongue tie

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above Q38.1

These are not written on Q38.1, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing Q38.1 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on Q38 — Other congenital malformations of tongue, mouth and pharynx

dentofacial anomalies (M26.-)
macrostomia (Q18.4)
microstomia (Q18.5)

Risk adjustment

Q38.1 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

Q38.1 is named in 3 Medicare coverage policies — 3 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A53052Billing and Coding: Home Health Speech-Language Pathology
A54111Billing and Coding: Speech Language Pathology (SLP) Services: Communication Disorders
A56868Billing and Coding: Outpatient Speech Language Pathology

How Q38.1 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 Q38.1.

Ankyloglossia
Frenum, frenulum›tongue(shortening) (congenital)
Short, shortening, shortness›frenum, frenulum, linguae(congenital)
Syndrome›ankyloglossia superior
Tongue›tie
Malformation›tongue›tie

Code history

Q38.1 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 Q38. If Q38.1 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about Q38.1

Is Q38.1 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. Q38.1 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does Q38.1 sit in the tabular list?: Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-QA0), in the block Other congenital malformations of the digestive system (Q38-Q45).
What cannot be coded together with Q38.1?: Q38.1 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 Q38.1 (Q38) and apply to it just the same.