Wright Medical Billing, LLC

02/20/2026

Here's what medical coders need to know. There are no code additions, deletions, or revisions to ICD-10-CM in the April update for fiscal year 2026. That CMS releases ICD-10-CM April 2026 update.

02/04/2026

Monday Morsels!

01/25/2026

01/26/2026 - our office will be closed.

01/24/2026

👉 Excludes1 means the two conditions cannot be coded together because they represent the same clinical concept or mutually exclusive conditions.

So when you are stuck asking which one do I code, the answer comes from the documentation and the reason for the encounter.

How to decide step by step:
1.Identify what is actually being treated or evaluated.

Look at the provider assessment, not just the symptom list. What condition is driving the visit, treatment, or plan.

2.Choose the most specific and accurate diagnosis.

If one code represents a confirmed condition and the other is a symptom or related condition, you code the confirmed condition.

3.Do not code both.

Excludes1 is not optional. Even if both are documented, only 1 code can be reported.

4.Ask yourself this test question.

If this condition did not exist, would the other code still make sense?

If the answer is no, they are Excludes1 and only the true underlying condition is coded.

Quick example logic without specific codes:
•A definitive diagnosis vs a symptom of that diagnosis
•A congenital condition vs an acquired version
•Acute vs chronic versions when guidelines prohibit both

Exam tip for CPC and real life coding:

If you see Excludes1, stop immediately. Do not look for a way around it. The correct answer is always to determine which diagnosis best reflects the provider intent and code only that one.

01/23/2026

Telehealth & Remote Monitoring – Revised
Learn what’s changed:

CMS added a resource link for the latest telehealth information
We added information on how to suppress a practitioner’s home address in PECOS
They removed Telehealth frequency limitations for subsequent inpatient and nursing facility, and critical care consultations
We’ll permanently allow teaching and supervising physicians to supervise through virtual presence
They will continue to pay Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers for medical Telehealth services through December 31, 2026
Starting in CY 2026, they will only add services to the Medicare Telehealth services list on a permanent basis
We added 5 new CPT and HCPCS codes to the Medicare Telehealth services list
For CY 2026, we updated the:
Medicare Economic Index
Originating site fee

https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mln901705-telehealth-remote-monitoring.pdf

01/18/2026

01/01/2026

Have a Happy New Year, Coders!

2026!!!

Don't over celebrate like Santa & the Elves 🤣 Stay safe!

12/26/2025

A Very Chaotic Christmas: An ICD-10 Adventure

On the Twelfth day of Christmas.

Reindeer Riot

ICD-10 code F43.8: Emotional stress.

Santa is having some emotional distress when the reindeer get loose right before takeoff.

12/22/2025

For Santa's "diagnosis,"

Santa's Medical Chart

Here's a list of potential ICD-10 codes for Santa's classic attributes:
Weight & Diet:
E66.813: Obesity, Class 3 (Severe) – for his significant size.
Z68.44: Body Mass Index (BMI) 40.0-44.9, Adult (or higher, Z68.45 for 45+) – paired with E66 codes for detail.
F50.9: Eating disorder, unspecified – for "overeating"
Z71.3: Dietary counseling and surveillance – for yearly recommendations he ignores.
Appearance:
L81.9: Other disorders of pigmentation, unspecified – for general skin tone/rosiness (or lack thereof on hands).
L65.9: Nonscarring hair loss, unspecified – for the "white beard" (alopecia, but maybe just vitiligo on hair follicles).
H25.90: Unspecified cataract – for the twinkle in his eye (or clouded vision from age/cookies!).
Other Potential Ailments:
I10: Essential (primary) hypertension – common with obesity.
E11.9: Type 2 diabetes mellitus without complications – from all those sweets.
G47.30: Sleep apnea, unspecified – from sleeping by the fireplace.
Important Note: These are fun, hypothetical examples; accurate medical coding requires a full patient assessment, but they use real ICD-10 codes.