Is W16.6 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

No. W16.6 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.

Where does W16.6 sit in the tabular list?

External causes of morbidity (V00-Y99), in the block Slipping, tripping, stumbling and falls (W00-W19).

What cannot be coded together with W16.6?

W16.6 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 W16.6 (W16) and apply to it just the same.

W16.6

W16.6 — Jumping or diving into natural body of water

Non-billable headerICD-10-CM

W16.6 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for jumping or diving into natural body of water. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below. This code also requires a 7th character before it is complete.

This code requires a 7th character

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W16

A: initial encounter
D: subsequent encounter
S: sequela

Inclusion terms

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

Jumping or diving into lake
Jumping or diving into open sea
Jumping or diving into river
Jumping or diving into stream

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above W16.6

These are not written on W16.6, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing W16.6 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on W16 — Fall, jump or diving into water

accidental non-watercraft drowning and submersion not involving fall (W65-W74)
effects of air pressure from diving (W94.-)
fall into water from watercraft (V90-V94)
hitting an object or against bottom when falling from watercraft (V94.0)

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above W16.6

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of W16.6, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on W16 — Fall, jump or diving into water

striking or hitting diving board (W21.4)

Other codes that can never be billed with W16.6

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at W16.6. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading W16.6 alone.

V90Drowning and submersion due to accident to watercraft
V92Drowning and submersion due to accident on board watercraft, without accident to watercraft

Risk adjustment

W16.6 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.

Code history

W16.6 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.

Code to one of these instead W16.6

2 child codes. Green means billable.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share W16. If W16.6 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about W16.6

Is W16.6 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: No. W16.6 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
Where does W16.6 sit in the tabular list?: External causes of morbidity (V00-Y99), in the block Slipping, tripping, stumbling and falls (W00-W19).
What cannot be coded together with W16.6?: W16.6 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 W16.6 (W16) and apply to it just the same.