There is a common belief that if a medical condition doesn’t have its own official name or code in the healthcare system, doctors can’t treat it or bill insurance for it. When it comes to “Havana Syndrome”—officially called Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs)—the answer is no. Doctors do not need a specific “Havana Syndrome” code to care for patients or get paid by insurance.
Here is how the medical system handles it in plain terms:
- Doctors Treat the Symptoms, Not the Mystery: Medical billing relies on a massive checklist of codes called the ICD-10. If a patient has Havana Syndrome, a doctor doesn’t need to label the entire mystery. Instead, they bill for the actual, physical symptoms the patient is experiencing, like vertigo, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), severe headaches, or sleep issues.
- Existing Brain Codes Already Fit: Because Havana Syndrome often looks and feels like a concussion or a mild traumatic brain injury, specialists can use existing, broader neurological codes (like “other specified disorders of the brain”) to cover the treatment.
- The Government Already Proved It: When the U.S. government passed the HAVANA Act to provide financial support and specialized medical care to affected diplomats and federal employees, officials explicitly stated that a new, specific medical code wasn’t necessary. The existing codes for brain injuries and neurological symptoms were already perfectly sufficient to get patients covered.
What would a unique code actually do?
If a unique code for Havana Syndrome isn’t needed for patient care or insurance, why do some people still want one?
A dedicated code would be used for tracking, not treating. It would make it much easier for public health agencies and researchers to count cases, map where they are happening globally, and study the condition long-term. But for an everyday civilian or federal worker sitting in a doctor’s office, the current medical system already has all the tools it needs to authorize and bill for their care.
