M08.4A — Pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, other specified site

BillableUnspecified

Is M08.4A billable?

Yes, but M08.4A is an unspecified code. M08.4A is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. However, M08.4A is an unspecified or catch-all code. Payers apply additional scrutiny to unspecified codes and many deny them when the medical record supports a more specific option, so check the documentation before selecting M08.4A — the more specific alternatives are listed below.

More specific alternatives

M08.4A at a glance

Code	M08.4A
Description	Pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, other specified site
Billable	Yes
Code set	ICD-10-CM FY2027
Valid for encounters	October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Which MS-DRGs does M08.4A group to?

M08.4A sits in MDC 08 and helps define the logic of 3 MS-DRGs (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.

545Connective Tissue Disorders with MCCmedical
546Connective Tissue Disorders with CCmedical
547Connective Tissue Disorders without CC/MCCmedical

How is M08.4A listed in the Alphabetic Index?

These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to M08.4A. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.

Arthritis, arthritic › juvenile › pauciarticular › specified site NEC (acute) (chronic) (nonpyogenic) (subacute)

Excludes1 — never code together — inherited from M08

The conditions below can never be reported together with M08.4A on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.

arthropathy in Whipple's disease (M14.8)
Felty's syndrome (M05.0)
juvenile dermatomyositis (M33.0-)
psoriatic juvenile arthropathy (L40.54)

Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 13

The conditions below are not part of M08.4A, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, M08.4A and the excluded code may both be reported.

arthropathic psoriasis (L40.5-)
certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
compartment syndrome (traumatic) (T79.A-)
complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
neoplasms (C00-D49)
symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

Code also — inherited from M08

Two codes may be needed to describe the condition fully. Whether M08.4A is sequenced first depends on the reason for the encounter.

any associated underlying condition, such as:
regional enteritis [Crohn's disease] (K50.-)
ulcerative colitis (K51.-)

How long has M08.4A existed?

M08.4A first appears in FY2021 (FY2020 is not available, so it may have appeared then).

Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.