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Compare/S50.86 vs S51.85

S50.86 vs S51.85

S50.86 (Insect bite (nonvenomous) of forearm) compared with S51.85 (Open bite of forearm), 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. S51.85 carries an Excludes1 note covering S50.86: “superficial bite of forearm (S50.86, S50.87)”

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

S50.86Insect bite (nonvenomous) of forearmS51.85Open bite of forearm
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: S50.861A, S50.861D, S50.861S, S50.862A, S50.862D

Non-billable header

Report instead: S51.851A, S51.851D, S51.851S, S51.852A, S51.852D

ClassificationS00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
DefinitionInsect bite (nonvenomous) of forearm is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S50.86).Open bite of forearm is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S51.85).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S50The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S51
Includes
Bite of forearm NOS

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources