Is R05.2 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. R05.2 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does R05.2 sit in the tabular list?

Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), in the block Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems (R00-R09).

What cannot be coded together with R05.2?

R05.2 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 R05.2 (R05) and apply to it just the same.

R05.2

R05.2 — Subacute cough

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

R05.2 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for subacute cough. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above R05.2

These are not written on R05.2, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing R05.2 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on R05 — Cough

paroxysmal cough due to Bordetella pertussis (A37.0-)
smoker's cough (J41.0)

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above R05.2

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of R05.2, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on R05 — Cough

cough with hemorrhage (R04.2)

Risk adjustment

R05.2 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

R05.2 is named in 22 Medicare coverage policies — 22 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A52866Billing and Coding: Speech-Language Pathology
A56580Billing and Coding: Computerized Axial Tomography (CT), Thorax
A56621Billing and Coding: Swallowing Studies for Dysphagia
A56717Billing and Coding: Respiratory Therapy (Respiratory Care)

How R05.2 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 R05.2.

Cough›subacute

Code history

R05.2 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 R05. If R05.2 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about R05.2

Is R05.2 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. R05.2 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does R05.2 sit in the tabular list?: Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), in the block Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems (R00-R09).
What cannot be coded together with R05.2?: R05.2 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 R05.2 (R05) and apply to it just the same.