E46 — Unspecified protein-calorie malnutrition
E46 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for unspecified protein-calorie malnutrition. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Excludes1 — never code together
These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.
- nutritional deficiency NOS (E63.9)
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Malnutrition NOS
- Protein-calorie imbalance NOS
Other codes that can never be billed with E46
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at E46. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading E46 alone.
- R63.6Underweight
Risk adjustment
E46 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.
Medicare coverage
E46 is named in 14 Medicare coverage policies — 14 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A56232Billing and Coding: Foot Care
- A56389Billing and Coding: Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Visualization
- A56416Billing and Coding: Assays for Vitamins and Metabolic Function
- A56680Billing and Coding: Routine Foot Care
How E46 is indexed
Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to E46.
- Calorie deficiency or malnutrition
- Malnutrition
- Cataract›malnutrition-dehydration
- Deficiency, deficient›protein
- Malnutrition›protein
- Cataract›in›malnutrition-dehydration
- Malnutrition›protein›calorie
- Malnutrition›protein›energy
Questions about E46
- Is E46 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. E46 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does E46 sit in the tabular list?
- Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E89), in the block Malnutrition (E40-E46).
- What cannot be coded together with E46?
- E46 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.