Question 1

What does POA exempt mean in ICD-10-CM?

Accepted Answer

A POA exempt code does not require a Present On Admission indicator on inpatient claims. CMS exempts codes that always describe circumstances rather than acute conditions, such as external cause codes, sequela codes, and status Z codes.

Question 2

How many ICD-10-CM codes are POA exempt in FY2027?

Accepted Answer

CMS lists 38,399 ICD-10-CM codes as exempt from POA reporting for FY2027. Most come from chapter 19 (injury and poisoning, largely sequela codes) and chapter 20 (external causes of morbidity).

Question 3

What POA indicator is used for an exempt code?

Accepted Answer

No indicator is required. On the UB-04 or 837I claim, the POA field for an exempt code is left blank. Y, N, U or W must not be reported for codes on the exempt list.

Present On Admission Exempt Codes