Is W49.01 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

No. W49.01 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.

Where does W49.01 sit in the tabular list?

External causes of morbidity (V00-Y99), in the block Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (W20-W49).

What cannot be coded together with W49.01?

W49.01 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 W49.01 (W49) and apply to it just the same.

W49.01

W49.01 — Hair causing external constriction

Non-billable headerICD-10-CM

W49.01 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for hair causing external constriction. 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 W49

A: initial encounter
D: subsequent encounter
S: sequela

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above W49.01

These are not written on W49.01, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing W49.01 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on W49 — Exposure to other inanimate mechanical forces

exposure to inanimate mechanical forces involving military or war operations (Y36.-, Y37.-)

Risk adjustment

W49.01 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.

How W49.01 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 W49.01.

Constriction›hair

Code history

W49.01 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 W49.01

3 child codes. Green means billable.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share W49.0. If W49.01 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about W49.01

Is W49.01 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: No. W49.01 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
Where does W49.01 sit in the tabular list?: External causes of morbidity (V00-Y99), in the block Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (W20-W49).
What cannot be coded together with W49.01?: W49.01 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 W49.01 (W49) and apply to it just the same.