J41.0
BillableSimple chronic bronchitis
HCC Category Mapping
V28HCC 280 — Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
0.334V24HCC 111 — Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
0.334ESRDHCC 111 — Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
0.000RxHCCHCC 229 — COPD and Chronic Bronchitis
0.000What This Code Means
A long-term inflammation of the airways characterized by simple mucus production without pus, typically caused by smoking or environmental irritants.
Coding Tips
Clinical Significance
Simple chronic bronchitis represents persistent inflammation of the bronchial airways with chronic productive cough lasting at least three months in two consecutive years without purulent sputum. As a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it contributes meaningfully to patient complexity and resource utilization in risk-adjusted payment models.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Documentation of chronic cough productive of mucoid (non-purulent) sputum
- ✓Duration: symptoms present for at least 3 months per year for at least 2 consecutive years
- ✓Exclusion of other causes of chronic cough (tuberculosis, lung cancer, etc.)
- ✓Current status and severity of symptoms
- ✓Treatment plan including bronchodilators, smoking cessation, or other respiratory therapies
- ✓Pulmonary function testing results if available
Commonly Confused Codes
J41.1 — Mucopurulent chronic bronchitis: use when sputum is purulent (yellow-green), not mucoidJ42 — Unspecified chronic bronchitis: less specific; use J41.0 when documentation specifies simple (non-purulent) typeJ44.9 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified: use when COPD is documented without further specification; J41.0 is more specificJ40 — Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic: non-HCC code for non-chronic bronchitisJ20.x — Acute bronchitis: completely different condition, does not map to any HCC
Code Hierarchy
└J41Simple and mucopurulent chronic bronchitis└J41.0Simple chronic bronchitis
└J41.0Simple chronic bronchitis