What is ICD-10 code K50.00?

K50.00 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for Crohn's disease of small intestine without complications. Crohn's disease affecting the small intestine without any complications like bleeding, obstruction, or infection. It belongs to the ICD-10-CM chapter for diseases of the digestive system (k00-k95). K50.00 is a billable code, meaning it can be reported on a claim as a primary or secondary diagnosis when supported by documentation. K50.00 is part of the FY2026 ICD-10-CM code set published by the CMS National Center for Health Statistics and used on Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial claims in the United States.

Yes. K50.00 is a billable ICD-10-CM code that can be reported on professional and institutional claims as a primary or secondary diagnosis when the provider documentation supports the specific condition described. Billable codes in ICD-10-CM are coded to the highest level of specificity available for the documented diagnosis. K50.00 is current for fiscal year 2026 and remains in the active CMS ICD-10-CM code set published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

What is the V28 vs V24 difference for K50.00?

CMS phased in the V28 risk adjustment model over payment years 2024 (33%), 2025 (67%), and 2026 (100%), replacing V24. V28 consolidates HCC categories, removes some lower-acuity conditions, and recalibrates RAF weights across the entire model. For K50.00, V28 maps to Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis) at RAF 0.550 while V24 mapped to Inflammatory Bowel Disease at RAF 0.308. Both models can still appear in legacy data and in payer-specific lookback periods.

What should coders know when reporting K50.00?

This code represents uncomplicated Crohn's disease limited to the small intestine If any complications are documented, select the appropriate K50.01x code instead Because K50.00 maps to a payment HCC, the documentation must also satisfy MEAT criteria (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) for the encounter to count toward the patient's risk adjustment score.

2026 ICD-10-CM K50.00: Crohn's disease of small

ICD-10-CM Code View

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Code lookupK50.00Effective periodFY2026 Apr Update (Apr 1-Sep 30)

FY 2026 Apr update / Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95) / Noninfective enteritis and colitis (K50-K52)

K50.00

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

Crohn's disease of small intestine without complications

Crohn's disease affecting the small intestine without any complications like bleeding, obstruction, or infection.

Buddy Insight

CMS-HCC V28

Mapped

HCC 80

Crohn's Disease (Regional Ent...

RAF 0.550

CMS-HCC V24

Mapped

HCC 35

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

RAF 0.308

ACA/HHS

Mapped

HCC 48

HHS-HCC 48

Varies by metal level

ESRD/PACE

Mapped

HCC 35

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

RAF 0.048

RXHCC

Mapped

HCC 67

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

RAF 0.494

Code Book Path

Official

K50Crohn's disease [regional enteritis]

K50.0Crohn's disease of small intestine

K50.00Crohn's disease of small intestine without complications

Inclusion Terms

Official

Crohn's disease [regional enteritis] of duodenum
Crohn's disease [regional enteritis] of ileum
Crohn's disease [regional enteritis] of jejunum
Regional ileitis
Terminal ileitis

Excludes 2

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Excludes 2 notes for K50.00 in this effective period.

Related Child Codes

Official

K50.01Crohn's disease of small intestine with complications

Includes

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Includes notes for K50.00 in this effective period.

Excludes 1

Official

Crohn's disease of both small and large intestine (K50.8-)

Code First

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Code First sequencing instructions for K50.00 in this effective period.

Use Additional

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Use Additional Code instructions for K50.00 in this effective period.

Code Also

Official

ICD-10-CM does not list Code Also instructions for K50.00 in this effective period.

Buddy Documentation Tip

HCC Buddy guidance

Provider documentation explicitly stating Crohn's disease with small intestine involvement

Confirmation of anatomic location (terminal ileum, jejunum, or other small bowel segments)

Documentation that no current complications exist (no bleeding, obstruction, fistula, or abscess)

Current treatment regimen (biologics, immunomodulators, corticosteroids)

MEAT Support

HCC Buddy guidance

Provider documentation explicitly stating Crohn's disease with small intestine involvement

Confirmation of anatomic location (terminal ileum, jejunum, or other small bowel segments)

Documentation that no current complications exist (no bleeding, obstruction, fistula, or abscess)

Current treatment regimen (biologics, immunomodulators, corticosteroids)

Audit Caution

HCC Buddy guidance

Coding Crohn's disease as ulcerative colitis or vice versa — they are distinct diseases with different code families (K50 vs. K51)

Not specifying the anatomic location when it is documented, resulting in the unspecified code (K50.90)

Assigning the uncomplicated code when complications are documented elsewhere in the record

Failing to reconfirm Crohn's disease annually — it must be documented each year for risk adjustment

Common Mistakes

HCC Buddy guidance

K50.10 — Crohn's disease of large intestine without complications: different anatomic location (colon vs. small intestine)

K50.80 — Crohn's disease of both small and large intestine without complications: involves both sites

K50.90 — Crohn's disease, unspecified, without complications: site not documented

K50.011-K50.019 — Crohn's disease of small intestine with complications: use when any complication is present

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 K50.00 an HCC code?

Yes. K50.00 (Crohn's disease of small intestine without complications) maps to Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis) under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model (and Inflammatory Bowel Disease under V24), with a community non-dual aged RAF of 0.550. It is billable for payment year 2026.

Coder answer: K50.00 is billable and maps to V28 HCC 80, Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis). Open it in the Code Book for the tabular path, RAF, and MEAT checklist.

Code: K50.00
Description: Crohn's disease of small intestine without complications
HCC (V28): HCC 80 — Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis)
RAF: 0.550
Billable: Yes
Payment year: 2026

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 80, Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis)

0.550

V24HCC 35, Inflammatory Bowel Disease

0.308

ESRDHCC 35, Inflammatory Bowel Disease

0.048

RxHCCHCC 67, Inflammatory Bowel Disease

0.494

Each model's RAF is its CMS base weight for that model's standard population, so 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 segment, interactions, and the model year used by the payer. V28 is the CMS-HCC model phased in over payment years 2024–2026; V24 remains in use during the transition and for historical data.

Work K50.00 in the Code Book — tabular path, V28 RAF, and MEAT checklist →

MEAT Criteria for K50.00

For K50.00 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 K50.00 during that encounter, not just copy-forwarded from a problem list.

Coder workflow notes

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What This Code Means

K50.00 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for crohn's disease of small intestine without complications. Crohn's disease affecting the small intestine without any complications like bleeding, obstruction, or infection. K50.00 sits in the ICD-10-CM chapter for diseases of the digestive system (k00-k95), within the section covering noninfective enteritis and colitis (k50-k52).

Under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model, K50.00 maps to Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis) (HCC 80) with a community, non-dual, aged base RAF weight of 0.550. Under the older CMS-HCC V24 model, K50.00 maps to Inflammatory Bowel Disease (HCC 35) with a community, non-dual, aged base RAF weight of 0.308. 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.

This code represents uncomplicated Crohn's disease limited to the small intestine. Because K50.00 maps to a payment HCC, the provider's documentation must satisfy MEAT criteria (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) for the encounter to count toward the patient's Medicare Advantage risk adjustment score. 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, RAF weights, and MEAT documentation criteria for K50.00 sourced directly from the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model files and the CMS ICD-10-CM code set.

Coding Tips

•This code represents uncomplicated Crohn's disease limited to the small intestine
•If any complications are documented, select the appropriate K50.01x code instead

Clinical Significance

Crohn's disease of the small intestine without complications is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease requiring lifelong management, with significant impact on quality of life and healthcare resource utilization. Small intestine involvement (most commonly the terminal ileum) can lead to malabsorption, stricturing, and fistulizing disease over time. Risk adjustment capture is important as these patients require ongoing biologic therapies, surveillance, and potential surgical interventions.

Documentation Requirements

✓Provider documentation explicitly stating Crohn's disease with small intestine involvement
✓Confirmation of anatomic location (terminal ileum, jejunum, or other small bowel segments)
✓Documentation that no current complications exist (no bleeding, obstruction, fistula, or abscess)
✓Current treatment regimen (biologics, immunomodulators, corticosteroids)
✓Disease activity status (remission, mild, moderate, or severe)
✓Method of diagnosis (endoscopy, imaging, histology)

Commonly Confused Codes

•K50.10: Crohn's disease of large intestine without complications: different anatomic location (colon vs. small intestine)
•K50.80: Crohn's disease of both small and large intestine without complications: involves both sites
•K50.90: Crohn's disease, unspecified, without complications: site not documented
•K50.011-K50.019: Crohn's disease of small intestine with complications: use when any complication is present
•K51.00: Ulcerative pancolitis without complications: completely different disease (ulcerative colitis)