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MS-DRG 022 · MDC 01 · Surgical

MS-DRG 022: Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage without CC/MCC

Reviewed by QuickIntell RCM Editorial Team · Last reviewed

Data effective
Data currency: IPPS Table 5 FY2027 final rule (effective October 1, 2026); Definitions Manual v44 (effective October 1, 2026). Next CMS release: April 1, 2027 (v44.1 mid-year update), then the FY2028 final rule in August 2027.

Key facts for DRG 022

FY2027 relative weight
3.3520
Higher than 82% of all MS-DRGs
Change vs FY2026
+5.5%
FY2026 weight 3.1770
Geometric mean LOS
1.6 days
Arithmetic mean 2.5 days
MDC
01
Assignment of Diagnosis Codes
Severity level
without CC or MCC
Transfer policy
Not a transfer DRG

TL;DR

MS-DRG 022 is a surgical group in MDC 01 (Assignment of Diagnosis Codes) at the base severity level of its family. CMS assigns it a FY2027 relative weight of 3.3520 with a geometric mean length of stay of 1.6 days and an arithmetic mean of 2.5. Its weight moved up 5.5% from FY2026 (3.1770). That weight is higher than 82% of all surgical and medical MS-DRGs. Its CC/MCC family (DRG 020, DRG 021) spans weights 3.3520 to 7.9590. The v44 Definitions Manual assigns it through 292 operating room procedures codes and 99 principal diagnosis codes.

What changed from FY2026 to FY2027

CMS recalibrates every MS-DRG weight annually from the prior year's MedPAR claims. For DRG 022 the FY2027 relative weight is 3.3520 against 3.1770 in FY2026, a rise of 5.51%, which exceeds the 2% threshold worth re-checking in contract models.

FY2026 versus FY2027 payment factors for MS-DRG 022
MetricFY2026FY2027Change
Relative weight3.17703.3520+0.1750
Geometric mean LOS (days)1.71.6-0.1
Arithmetic mean LOS (days)2.42.5+0.1
Weights shown are the FY2027 final values after the 10% cap on year-over-year reductions where applicable.

CC and MCC family

DRG 022 shares its base definition with 2 other MS-DRGs split by severity. The family's weights span 3.3520 to 7.9590, a 2.37× spread, which is the payment effect of documenting qualifying complications and comorbidities.

MS-DRGs in the same base group as DRG 022
DRGTitleFY2027 weightGMLOS
020Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage with MCC7.95908.4
021Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage with CC5.47004.8
022Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage without CC/MCC3.35201.6

Grouper logic (v44 Definitions Manual)

Operating Room Procedures: 292 ICD-10 codes drive assignment to this group; the first 12 are shown.

Operating Room Procedures codes assigned to DRG 022 (sample)
ICD-10 codeDescription
031H09GBypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Venous Tissue, Open Approach
031H0AGBypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Arterial Tissue, Open Approach
031H0JGBypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Synthetic Substitute, Open Approach
031H0KGBypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach
031H0ZGBypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery, Open Approach
031J09GBypass Left Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Venous Tissue, Open Approach
031J0AGBypass Left Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Arterial Tissue, Open Approach
031J0JGBypass Left Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Synthetic Substitute, Open Approach
031J0KGBypass Left Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach
031J0ZGBypass Left Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery, Open Approach
031S09GBypass Right Temporal Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Venous Tissue, Open Approach
031S0AGBypass Right Temporal Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Arterial Tissue, Open Approach

Principal Diagnosis: 99 ICD-10 codes drive assignment to this group; the first 12 are shown.

Principal Diagnosis codes assigned to DRG 022 (sample)
ICD-10 codeDescription
I6000Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from unspecified carotid siphon and bifurcation
I6001Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from right carotid siphon and bifurcation
I6002Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from left carotid siphon and bifurcation
I6010Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from unspecified middle cerebral artery
I6011Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from right middle cerebral artery
I6012Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from left middle cerebral artery
I602Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from anterior communicating artery
I6030Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from unspecified posterior communicating artery
I6031Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from right posterior communicating artery
I6032Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from left posterior communicating artery
I604Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from basilar artery
I6050Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage from unspecified vertebral artery

Documentation and denial exposure

As a surgical DRG, assignment depends on a qualifying operating-room procedure being coded from the operative report; a missing or non-OR procedure code drops the stay into a medical DRG in MDC 01 with a lower weight. Because this family splits by severity, auditors target CC and MCC capture: each secondary diagnosis must be documented as present, monitored, evaluated or treated during the stay to survive a DRG-validation review. Typical inpatient denial codes for this group: CARC 16 (claim lacks information needed to group the stay), CARC 50 (the admission or procedure is judged not medically necessary), CARC 97 (a service is bundled into the DRG payment).

How QuickIntell uses DRG 022 data

QuickCode groups inpatient encounters against the current v44 logic, flags CC and MCC candidates that lack supporting documentation, and shows the weight difference across the family before the claim drops. QuickScribe captures the attending's language that supports severity, and QuickRCM works DRG-validation denials with the grouper evidence attached.

Explore QuickCodeExplore QuickScribeBook a demo

Frequently asked questions — DRG 022

What is MS-DRG 022?

MS-DRG 022 is "Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage without CC/MCC", a surgical Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Group in MDC 01, Assignment of Diagnosis Codes. Medicare pays inpatient stays grouped here at the hospital's base rate multiplied by the DRG relative weight.

What is the FY2027 relative weight for DRG 022?

The FY2027 relative weight is 3.3520 (IPPS final rule Table 5, effective October 1, 2026). In FY2026 it was 3.1770, a change of +5.5%.

What is the average length of stay for DRG 022?

CMS reports a geometric mean length of stay of 1.6 days and an arithmetic mean of 2.5 days for FY2027. The geometric mean is used for transfer-payment calculations.

Which DRGs are in the same CC/MCC family as 022?

DRG 020 (Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage with MCC, weight 7.9590); DRG 021 (Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage with CC, weight 5.4700). The family's weights range from 3.3520 to 7.9590, so documented complications and comorbidities change payment materially.

What documentation supports the severity level of DRG 022?

DRG 022 is the base-severity assignment: no secondary diagnosis on the CC or MCC lists was coded, or the only ones present are excluded for this principal diagnosis. Revenue-integrity review here looks for undercapture, meaning conditions treated during the stay (electrolyte disorders, specified anemia, acute blood loss, pressure injuries present on admission) that were never documented to the specificity the lists require. A compliant query to the attending, not a coder assumption, is the only way to move a stay to the CC or MCC sibling.

Which codes group to DRG 022?

The v44 Definitions Manual lists 292 operating room procedures codes and 99 principal diagnosis codes for this group. Examples from the operating room procedures list: 031H09G (Bypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Venous Tissue, Open Approach); 031H0AG (Bypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Autologous Arterial Tissue, Open Approach); 031H0JG (Bypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Synthetic Substitute, Open Approach); 031H0KG (Bypass Right Common Carotid Artery to Intracranial Artery with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach).

Is DRG 022 a post-acute transfer DRG?

No. DRG 022 is not on the FY2027 post-acute care transfer list, so the transfer per-diem policy does not apply to it.

Sources

Every figure on this page is taken from the CMS publications below, as released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Projection built 2026-10-01. Verify against the primary file before billing or contracting decisions.

Disclaimer

This page is an operational reference compiled from the CMS IPPS FY2027 final rule (Table 5) and the v44 ICD-10 MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Relative weights are national factors; actual payment depends on each hospital's wage-adjusted base rate, add-ons, outliers and transfer adjustments. Nothing here is legal, clinical or billing advice; verify grouping against your encoder and the published CMS files.