E78.2 vs M67
E78.2 and M67 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on M67
xanthomatosis localized to tendons (E78.2)
E78.2
Mixed hyperlipidemia
Billable
- Chapter 4
- Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
- Section
- E70-E88
Use when the record says
- Broad- or floating-betalipoproteinemia
- Combined hyperlipidemia NOS
- Elevated cholesterol with elevated triglycerides NEC
- Fredrickson's hyperlipoproteinemia, type IIb or III
- Hyperbetalipoproteinemia with prebetalipoproteinemia
- Hypercholesteremia with endogenous hyperglyceridemia
- Hyperlipidemia, group C
- Tubo-eruptive xanthoma
Indexed under
- Betalipoproteinemia, broad or floating
- Broad- or floating-betalipoproteinemia
- Dysbetalipoproteinemia (familial)
- Xanthelasmatosis (essential)
- Xanthoma (s), xanthomatosis (primary) (familial) (hereditary)
M67
Other disorders of synovium and tendon
Not billable
- Chapter 13
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
- Section
- M65-M67
These two codes sit in different chapters of the Tabular List, which is usually the clearest signal that they describe different underlying processes rather than different degrees of the same one.
Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027