H35.0 — Background retinopathy and retinal vascular changes
H35.0 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for background retinopathy and retinal vascular changes. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below.
Code also
Both codes may be needed to describe the encounter fully. Sequencing depends on the reason for the visit.
- any associated hypertension (I10)
Other codes that can never be billed with H35.0
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at H35.0. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading H35.0 alone.
- H36Retinal disorders in diseases classified elsewhere
Risk adjustment
H35.0 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.
Code to one of these instead H35.0
9 child codes. Green means billable.
- H35.00Unspecified background retinopathy
- H35.01Changes in retinal vascular appearance
- H35.02Exudative retinopathy
- H35.03Hypertensive retinopathy
- H35.04Retinal micro-aneurysms, unspecified
- H35.05Retinal neovascularization, unspecified
- H35.06Retinal vasculitis
- H35.07Retinal telangiectasis
- H35.09Other intraretinal microvascular abnormalities
Related codes at this level
Codes that share H35. If H35.0 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
- H35.1Retinopathy of prematurity
- H35.2Other non-diabetic proliferative retinopathy
- H35.3Degeneration of macula and posterior pole
- H35.4Peripheral retinal degeneration
- H35.5Hereditary retinal dystrophy
- H35.6Retinal hemorrhage
- H35.7Separation of retinal layers
- H35.8Other specified retinal disorders
- H35.9Unspecified retinal disorder
Questions about H35.0
- Is H35.0 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. H35.0 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does H35.0 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59), in the block Disorders of choroid and retina (H30-H36).