Is S44.00XA a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. S44.00XA is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does S44.00XA sit in the tabular list?

Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Injuries to the shoulder and upper arm (S40-S49).

What cannot be coded together with S44.00XA?

S44.00XA 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 S44.00XA (S44.0) and apply to it just the same.

S44.00XA

S44.00XA — Injury of ulnar nerve at upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CMunspecified

S44.00XA is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for injury of ulnar nerve at upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter. It is valid for submission on a claim.

7th character "A" — initial encounter

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S44

A: initial encounter
D: subsequent encounter
S: sequela

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above S44.00XA

These are not written on S44.00XA, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing S44.00XA with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on S44.0 — Injury of ulnar nerve at upper arm level

ulnar nerve NOS (S54.0)

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above S44.00XA

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of S44.00XA, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on S44 — Injury of nerves at shoulder and upper arm level

injury of brachial plexus (S14.3-)

Risk adjustment

S44.00XA 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

S44.00XA is named in 2 Medicare coverage policies — 2 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A56607Billing and Coding: Continuous Peripheral Nerve Blocks (CPNB)
A56722Billing and Coding: Intraoperative Neurophysiological Testing

Code history

S44.00XA 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 S44.00. If S44.00XA is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about S44.00XA

Is S44.00XA a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. S44.00XA is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does S44.00XA sit in the tabular list?: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Injuries to the shoulder and upper arm (S40-S49).
What cannot be coded together with S44.00XA?: S44.00XA 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 S44.00XA (S44.0) and apply to it just the same.