M46.90 — Unspecified inflammatory spondylopathy, site unspecified

BillableUnspecified

Is M46.90 billable?

Yes, but M46.90 is an unspecified code. M46.90 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. However, M46.90 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 M46.90 — the more specific alternatives are listed below.

More specific alternatives

M46.90 at a glance

Code	M46.90
Description	Unspecified inflammatory spondylopathy, site unspecified
Billable	Yes
Code set	ICD-10-CM FY2027
Valid for encounters	October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Which MS-DRGs does M46.90 group to?

M46.90 sits in MDC 08 and helps define the logic of 2 MS-DRGs (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.

551Medical Back Problems with MCCmedical
552Medical Back Problems without MCCmedical

How is M46.90 listed in the Alphabetic Index?

These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to M46.90. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.

Spondylopathy › inflammatory

Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 13

The conditions below are not part of M46.90, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, M46.90 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)

How long has M46.90 existed?

M46.90 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.

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

Which conditions are coded to M46.90?

ICD-10 code for Spondylopathy