S44.50XA — Injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter
S44.50XA is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and 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
Risk adjustment
S44.50XA 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
S44.50XA 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
Related codes at this level
Codes that share S44.50. If S44.50XA is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about S44.50XA
- Is S44.50XA a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. S44.50XA is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does S44.50XA 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).