MS-DRG 552: MEDICAL BACK PROBLEMS WITHOUT MCC
MS-DRG 552 is medical back problems without mcc, in MDC 08 (a medical DRG), at the without-CC/MCC level. Its FY2027 relative weight is 0.9584, so a case here pays less than the average Medicare inpatient stay (weight 1.0), with a geometric mean length of stay of 2.90 days. 1,170 ICD-10-CM principal diagnoses group into MS-DRGs 551–552 under the CMS definitions manual; the most-searched are listed below.
FY2027 payment factors
- Relative weight
- 0.9584
- Geometric mean LOS
- 2.90
- Arithmetic mean LOS
- 3.60
- Post-acute transfer
- Yes
This DRG is subject to the post-acute care transfer policy: a discharge to a qualifying setting below the mean length of stay is paid per diem rather than in full.
Principal diagnoses that group to MS-DRGs 551–552
From the CMS MS-DRG definitions manual’s principal-diagnosis index: 1,170 ICD-10-CM codes route here, and the CC/MCC status of the secondary diagnoses decides which of 551–552 the case lands in. The 24 most-searched:
- M54.16Radiculopathy, lumbar region
- M54.2Cervicalgia
- M54.50Low back pain, unspecified
- M54.9Dorsalgia, unspecified
- M54.6Pain in thoracic spine
- M51.16Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, lumbar region
- M51.26Other intervertebral disc displacement, lumbar region
- M48.02Spinal stenosis, cervical region
- M53.3Sacrococcygeal disorders, not elsewhere classified
- M46.1Sacroiliitis, not elsewhere classified
- M47.816Spondylosis without myelopathy or radiculopathy, lumbar region
- M54.17Radiculopathy, lumbosacral region
- M47.812Spondylosis without myelopathy or radiculopathy, cervical region
- M47.817Spondylosis without myelopathy or radiculopathy, lumbosacral region
- M48.061Spinal stenosis, lumbar region without neurogenic claudication
- M51.360Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region with discogenic back pain only
- M54.41Lumbago with sciatica, right side
- M99.01Segmental and somatic dysfunction of cervical region
- M99.03Segmental and somatic dysfunction of lumbar region
- M47.22Other spondylosis with radiculopathy, cervical region
- M48.062Spinal stenosis, lumbar region with neurogenic claudication
- M50.20Other cervical disc displacement, unspecified cervical region
- M51.369Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region without mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain
- M54.42Lumbago with sciatica, left side
1,146 more codes group here. Open any code above for its full hierarchy, or check a whole claim in the free DRG calculator.
The severity splits
Same base DRG, split by whether a secondary diagnosis is a CC or MCC. The last column is the weight change from MS-DRG 552.
| 551 | MEDICAL BACK PROBLEMS WITH MCC | 1.6358 | +0.6774 |
| 552 | MEDICAL BACK PROBLEMS WITHOUT MCC | 0.9584 |
Choosing the principal diagnosis: Low back pain ICD-10 codes.
All FY2027 MS-DRGs · MDC 08