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D46.22 ICD-10-CM Code: Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2

D46.22 maps to CMS-HCC V28 17. A source-labeled RAF reference is available. Documentation must support MEAT. MEAT criteria · RAF Calculator · free HCC coding tools

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FY 2026 Apr update / Neoplasms (C00-D49) / Neoplasms of uncertain behavior, polycythemia vera and myelodysplastic syndromes (D37-D48)

D46.22

Billable / SpecificICD-10-CMOfficial ICD-10-CMCodebook guidance

Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2

A bone marrow disorder where red blood cells cannot be produced normally and there is an excess of immature blood cells at 10-19% of the bone marrow.

Buddy the Bee presenting code insight

Buddy Insight

Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2 (RAEB-2) is the highest-risk myelodysplastic syndrome subtype before transformation to acute myeloid leukemia, with 10-19% blasts in the bone marrow.

CMS-HCC V28

HCC 17

Code-level coefficient reference

CMS-HCC V24

Historical

Historical

Not used for CY2026 payment

ACA/HHS

HCC 067

Code-level coefficient reference

ESRD/PACE

HCC 46

Code-level coefficient reference

RXHCC

HCC 19

Code-level coefficient reference

Code Book Path

Official
D46Myelodysplastic syndromes
D46.2Refractory anemia with excess of blasts [RAEB]
D46.22Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2

Inclusion Terms

Official
  • RAEB 2

Excludes 2

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Excludes 2 notes for D46.22 in this effective period.

Related Child Codes

Official
D46.20Refractory anemia with excess of blasts, unspecified
D46.21Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 1

Includes

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Includes notes for D46.22 in this effective period.

Excludes 1

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Excludes 1 notes for D46.22 in this effective period.

Code First

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Code First sequencing instructions for D46.22 in this effective period.

Use Additional

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Use Additional Code instructions for D46.22 in this effective period.

Code Also

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Code Also instructions for D46.22 in this effective period.

Buddy Documentation Tip

HCC Buddy guidance
Documentation must include bone marrow biopsy confirming blast percentage between 10-19%, cytogenetic analysis, and International Prognostic Scoring System score.
Treatment plan (hypomethylating agents, intensive chemotherapy, stem cell transplant eligibility) should be documented.
Peripheral blood Auer rods, if present, also qualify as RAEB-2 regardless of blast count.

MEAT Support

HCC Buddy guidance
Documentation must include bone marrow biopsy confirming blast percentage between 10-19%, cytogenetic analysis, and International Prognostic Scoring System score.
Treatment plan (hypomethylating agents, intensive chemotherapy, stem cell transplant eligibility) should be documented.
Peripheral blood Auer rods, if present, also qualify as RAEB-2 regardless of blast count.

Audit Caution

HCC Buddy guidance
The 20% blast threshold is the critical cutoff between myelodysplastic syndrome (D46.22) and acute myeloid leukemia (C92.x).
Verify the blast count carefully from the pathology report.
Presence of Auer rods in blasts classifies as RAEB-2 even if the blast percentage is below 10%.
This condition requires frequent monitoring as the blast count may increase rapidly.

Common Mistakes

HCC Buddy guidance
D46.21 (RAEB-1, 5-9% blasts) has a lower blast count and better prognosis.
C92.00 (acute myeloblastic leukemia, not in remission) is used when blasts reach 20% or higher, representing leukemic transformation.
D46.20 (excess blasts, unspecified) should not be used when blast percentage is documented.

Current with CMS: FY2026 ICD-10-CM Apr 1 update (effective Apr 1 – Sep 30, 2026) · CMS-HCC V28, 100% phased in for payment year 2026. FY2027 code set already staged for October 1, 2026. How HCC Buddy stays current →

Is D46.22 an HCC code?

Yes. D46.22 (Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2) maps to HCC 17, Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model, with a source-labeled community non-dual aged reference coefficient of 4.209. Source-labeled code-level coefficients are references, not member totals. Actual contribution depends on complete member context, hierarchy and cleanup rules, interactions, and model year. HCC Buddy's RAF Calculator supports CMS-HCC V28 PY2026 and shows no score unless every required source and calculation check passes. It is billable for payment year 2026.

Coder answer: D46.22 is billable and maps to V28 HCC 17, Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic. Open it in the Code Book for the tabular path, RAF, and MEAT checklist.

Code
D46.22
Description
Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2
HCC (V28)
HCC 17 — Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic
RAF reference coefficient
4.209
Billable
Yes
Payment year
2026

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 17, Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic
4.209
ESRDHCC 46, Severe Hematological Disorders
Not separately weighted
RxHCCHCC 19, Leukemias and Other Hematologic Cancers
Not separately weighted

These are source-labeled model coefficients, not member totals. A category may still be removed by hierarchy or model cleanup rules. Weights are not directly comparable across models: CMS-HCC V28 and V24 use Community, Non-Dual, Aged; ESRD uses the dialysis continuing-enrollee model; RxHCC is the Part D continuing-enrollee, non-low-income, aged weight (a larger scale than CMS-HCC). ACA/HHS has no single weight — it varies by metal level. Actual per-patient RAF contribution depends on member context, hierarchy and cleanup rules, interactions, and the model year used by the payer. V28 is the CMS-HCC model phased in over payment years 2024–2026; V24 remains available for historical review.

Work D46.22 in the Code Book — tabular path, V28 RAF reference, and MEAT checklist →

MEAT Criteria for D46.22

For D46.22 to count as a valid HCC diagnosis in a given encounter, the provider's documentation must show MEAT: Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat. A diagnosis from a prior year does not carry forward automatically, it has to be re-documented and supported each calendar year.

  • MMonitor: signs, symptoms, disease progression, or lab trending documented in the note
  • EEvaluate: test results, medication response, or physical findings reviewed by the provider
  • AAssess: explicit mention in the assessment or plan with acknowledgment of status
  • TTreat: medication, referral, procedure, therapy, or counseling tied to the diagnosis

Only one of M/E/A/T is required to support the code, but the documentation must be specific enough to show that the provider actually addressed D46.22 during that encounter, not just copy-forwarded from a problem list.

Coder workflow notes

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What This Code Means

D46.22 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2. A bone marrow disorder where red blood cells cannot be produced normally and there is an excess of immature blood cells at 10-19% of the bone marrow. D46.22 sits in the ICD-10-CM chapter for neoplasms (c00-d49), within the section covering neoplasms of uncertain behavior, polycythemia vera and myelodysplastic syndromes (d37-d48).

Under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model, D46.22 maps to Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic (HCC 17) with a source-labeled community, non-dual, aged reference coefficient of 4.209. No V24 mapping is shown for D46.22; use the applicable model and payment year when reviewing the V28 mapping. V28 is the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model that reached 100% phase-in for payment year 2026, replacing V24 which was used during the PY2024–PY2025 transition. Source-labeled code-level coefficients are references, not member totals. Actual contribution depends on complete member context, hierarchy and cleanup rules, interactions, and model year. HCC Buddy's RAF Calculator supports CMS-HCC V28 PY2026 and shows no score unless every required source and calculation check passes.

Requires documentation of blast percentage between 10-19%. Because D46.22 maps to an HCC category, the provider's documentation must satisfy MEAT criteria (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) before the diagnosis is used for risk adjustment. When documentation is ambiguous, coders should issue a provider query rather than assume the highest-specificity variant.

HCC Buddy maintains structured V28 and V24 mapping, source-labeled coefficient references, and MEAT documentation criteria for D46.22 sourced directly from the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model files and the CMS ICD-10-CM code set.

Coding Tips

  • Requires documentation of blast percentage between 10-19%
  • This subtype carries higher risk of progression to acute leukemia than D46.21

Clinical Significance

Refractory anemia with excess of blasts 2 (RAEB-2) is the highest-risk myelodysplastic syndrome subtype before transformation to acute myeloid leukemia, with 10-19% blasts in the bone marrow. Median survival is approximately 10-16 months, and the risk of leukemic transformation approaches 40-50%, making this a critical diagnosis requiring urgent treatment decisions.

Documentation Requirements

  • Documentation must include bone marrow biopsy confirming blast percentage between 10-19%, cytogenetic analysis, and International Prognostic Scoring System score.
  • Treatment plan (hypomethylating agents, intensive chemotherapy, stem cell transplant eligibility) should be documented.
  • Peripheral blood Auer rods, if present, also qualify as RAEB-2 regardless of blast count.

Commonly Confused Codes

  • D46.21 (RAEB-1, 5-9% blasts) has a lower blast count and better prognosis.
  • C92.00 (acute myeloblastic leukemia, not in remission) is used when blasts reach 20% or higher, representing leukemic transformation.
  • D46.20 (excess blasts, unspecified) should not be used when blast percentage is documented.

Child Codes

Code Hierarchy

Because D46.22 maps to an HCC category, the documentation must satisfy MEAT criteria (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) before the diagnosis is used for risk adjustment.

D46.22 maps to CMS-HCC V28 category 17, Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic. See the ICD-10 to HCC mapping hub for how the V28 crosswalk works. The mapping identifies a payment HCC category for D46.22. Review its source-labeled HCC coefficient above, check the RAF Calculator with complete member context for CMS-HCC V28 PY2026, and confirm the documentation the chart needs before the code is submitted. HCC Buddy shows no RAF score unless every required source and calculation check passes.

Work D46.22 in HCC Buddy

Open D46.22 in the Code Book for the full Index-to-Tabular path, MEAT checklist, and V28 HCC mapping, or in the Encoder to code from a keyword search. Pro includes 7 days to try everything, no card required.