Z20.822 vs Z22
Z20.822 (Contact with and (suspected) exposure to COVID-19) compared with Z22 (Carrier of infectious disease), 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. Z20.822 carries an Excludes1 note covering Z22: “carrier of infectious disease (Z22.-)”
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
| Z20.822Contact with and (suspected) exposure to COVID-19 | Z22Carrier of infectious disease | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Non-billable header |
| Classification | Z00-Z99 — Factors Influencing Health Status and Contact with Health Services (Z00-Z99) | Z00-Z99 — Factors Influencing Health Status and Contact with Health Services (Z00-Z99) |
| Definition | Contact with and (suspected) exposure to COVID-19 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (Z20.822). | Carrier of infectious disease is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Z22). |
| Includes | Contact with and (suspected) exposure to SARS-CoV-2 | colonization status suspected carrier |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources