M86 vs M96
M86 (Osteomyelitis) compared with M96 (Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of musculoskeletal system, not elsewhere classified), 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. M86 carries an Excludes1 note covering M96: “postprocedural osteopathies (M96.-)”
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
| M86Osteomyelitis | M96Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of musculoskeletal system, not elsewhere classified | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | Non-billable header |
| Classification | M00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99) | M00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99) |
| Definition | Osteomyelitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (M86). | Intraoperative and postprocedural complications and disorders of musculoskeletal system, not elsewhere classified is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (M96). |
| Use additional code | code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent code to identify major osseous defect, if applicable (M89.7-) | — |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources