M50.020 — Cervical disc disorder with myelopathy, mid-cervical region, unspecified level
Is M50.020 billable?
Yes, but M50.020 will trip a Medicare edit. M50.020 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. However, CMS lists M50.020 under Medicare Code Editor edit 20, “Unspecified code” — meaning a code specifying laterality (right, left or bilateral) exists in the same family. On an inpatient claim this triggers the edit, because CMS holds that there are very limited circumstances in which laterality cannot be documented.
M50.020 at a glance
| Code | M50.020 |
|---|---|
| Description | Cervical disc disorder with myelopathy, mid-cervical region, unspecified level |
| Billable | Yes |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
What Medicare edits apply to M50.020?
The Medicare Code Editor screens inpatient claims before they are grouped. These edits name M50.020 directly.
A code specifying laterality (right, left or bilateral) exists in the same family. CMS holds that there are very limited circumstances in which laterality cannot be documented.
Which MS-DRGs does M50.020 group to?
M50.020 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
As a secondary diagnosis, M50.020 is a complication or comorbidity (CC), which can move a stay into a higher-paying DRG.
How is M50.020 listed in the Alphabetic Index?
These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to M50.020. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.
- Disorder › disc › with › myelopathy › mid-cervical region (of)
- Disorder › disc › cervical › with › myelopathy › mid-cervical region (of)
Excludes1 — never code together — inherited from M50-M54
The conditions below can never be reported together with M50.020 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
- current injury - see injury of spine by body region
- discitis NOS (M46.4-)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 13
The conditions below are not part of M50.020, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, M50.020 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 M50.020 existed?
M50.020 first appears in FY2018 (FY2017 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.