Is K13.21 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. K13.21 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does K13.21 sit in the tabular list?

Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95), in the block Diseases of oral cavity and salivary glands (K00-K14).

What cannot be coded together with K13.21?

K13.21 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.

K13.21

K13.21 — Leukoplakia of oral mucosa, including tongue

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

K13.21 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for leukoplakia of oral mucosa, including tongue. 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.

hairy leukoplakia (K13.3)
leukokeratosis nicotina palati (K13.24)

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

Leukokeratosis of oral mucosa
Leukoplakia of gingiva, lips, tongue

Risk adjustment

K13.21 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

K13.21 is named in 3 Medicare coverage policies — 3 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A54111Billing and Coding: Speech Language Pathology (SLP) Services: Communication Disorders
A57044Billing and Coding: Removal of Benign Skin Lesions
A57482Billing and Coding: Removal of Benign Skin Lesions

How K13.21 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 K13.21.

Leukokeratosis›mouth
Leukokeratosis›oral mucosa
Leukokeratosis›tongue
Leukoplakia›buccal
Leukoplakia›gingiva
Leukoplakia›lip
Leukoplakia›mouth
Leukoplakia›oral epithelium, including tongue(mucosa)
Leukoplakia›palate
Leukoplakia›tongue

Related codes at this level

Codes that share K13.2. If K13.21 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about K13.21

Is K13.21 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. K13.21 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does K13.21 sit in the tabular list?: Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95), in the block Diseases of oral cavity and salivary glands (K00-K14).
What cannot be coded together with K13.21?: K13.21 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.