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M43.0 vs M43.1

M43.0 (Spondylolysis) compared with M43.1 (Spondylolisthesis), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.

Can these codes be reported together?

No — do not report together. M43.0 carries an Excludes1 note covering M43.1: “spondylolisthesis (M43.1)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Side by side

M43.0SpondylolysisM43.1Spondylolisthesis
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: M43.00, M43.01, M43.02, M43.03, M43.04

Non-billable header

Report instead: M43.10, M43.11, M43.12, M43.13, M43.14

ClassificationM00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99)M00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99)
DefinitionSpondylolysis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (M43.0).Spondylolisthesis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (M43.1).
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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources