CPC Exam Questions and Answers
100% Correct
Abstractor ✔✔hospital employee who converts documented procedurs and diangoses into medical
codes
Abuse ✔✔coding practices that lead to improper reimbursement by error beca
...
CPC Exam Questions and Answers
100% Correct
Abstractor ✔✔hospital employee who converts documented procedurs and diangoses into medical
codes
Abuse ✔✔coding practices that lead to improper reimbursement by error because they do not meet
medical necessity, ex. changing diagnosis to be covered by insurance
Accreditation ✔✔an examination process the healthcare facility goes through to evaluate the
facilities policies, procedures, and performance to meet higher standards.
Accredited ✔✔Having seal of approval after being evaluated and demonstrating quality standards
Act/ Law/ Statute ✔✔Legislation passed through Congress and signed by President or passed over
his veto
Actual Charge ✔✔The amount the provider charges for medical services or supplies. Not always
paid in full.
Additional Benefits ✔✔Health care services not covered by Medicare and are offered through the
Medicare Advantage Organization for no additional premium. The benefits must equal the ACR
(Adjusted Community Rating)
Adjudication ✔✔Health Insurance Claims process at the insurance company
Adjusted Average Per Capita Cost (AAPCC) ✔✔Estimate of how much Medicare will spend in a
year for an average beneficiary
Administrative Code Sets ✔✔Non medical code sets that characterize a general business situation
rather than a medical condition.
Administrative Costs ✔✔Medicare, Medicaid, CMS refer to this as their expenses to have the
program, operating expenses, program management, etc.
Administrative Data ✔✔Health insurance information stored in automated information system
about enrollment, eligibility, claims, etc.
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ✔✔hearing officer who presides over appeal conflicts between
providers or beneficiaries, and Medicare contractors (MAC's)
Administrative Simplification ✔✔Part of HIPAA authorizing HHS (Health and Human Services)
to 1. adopt standards for transactions & code sets; 2. adopt standard identifiers for health plans; 3.
adopt standards to protect security & privacy of personally identifiable health information.
Administrative Simplification Act ✔✔Signed 12/17/01 allows HHS (Health & Human Services)
to exclude providers from Medicare for HIPAA non-compliance of electronic claims and prohibit
paper claims except in certain situations
Admission Date ✔✔The date the patient was admitted for inpatient care, outpatient, or start of
care.For hospice, enter effective date of election of hospice benefits.
Admitting Diagnosis ✔✔Diagnosis code indicating patient's diagnosis at admission
Admitting Physician ✔✔The doctor responsible for admitting a patient to the hospital or other
inpatient health facility
Advance Beneficiary Notification (ABN) ✔✔A notice from provider to patient that Medicare may
deny payment. Patient must sign before services are provider, otherwise patient is not responsible
if Medicare does not cover.
Advanced Directive ✔✔Statement written by patient on how they want medical decisions to be
made. May include a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney for healthcare.
Allowed Charge ✔✔Individual charge determination by carrier for a covered service or supply.
Ambulatory Care ✔✔All types of health services that do not require an overnight stay.
Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) ✔✔Medical condtions that if treated immediatly
and managed properly should not require hospitalization.
Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) ✔✔Medicare's outpatient prospective payment system
in which services are grouped based on the resources needed and payment is fixed within each
group
Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) ✔✔Outpatient surgery center not located in the hospital.
Patient's may stay a few hours up to 1 night.
American Hospital Association (AHA) ✔✔Represents concerns of instituitional providers. They
host the National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC) which consults under HIPAA
American Medical Association (AMA) ✔✔Professional organization maintains CPT code sets,
secretariat to National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) which consults under HIPAA. ASC
payment group rate.
ASHIM ✔✔American Society of Health Informatics Managers, Inc. is a non-profit group of
computer professionals that specialize in health information technology (HIT). They are certified
through Certified Health Informatics System Professionals (CHISP)
Ancillary Services ✔✔Professional services by a hospital or inpatient facility. Xrays, drugs, labs,
etc.
Appeal ✔✔Complaint by hospital or patient about a health care payment
Approved Amount ✔✔The fee Medicare sets as reasonable and pays to the provider.
Assigned Claim ✔✔Claim submittted by a provider who accepts Medicare
Assignment ✔✔Agreeing to acccept Medicare fees as payment in full
Attending Physician ✔✔Licensed physician who certifies the patient services via medical
necessity and is primarily responsible for the patient's medical care and treatment.
Automated Claim Review ✔✔Claim review and etermination via system edits and don't require
human intervention
Basic Benefit ✔✔Includes Medicare covered benefits (except hospice) and additional benefits
Beneficiary ✔✔The name of a person who has health care insurance through the insurance
program
Benefit Payment ✔✔Amount paid by insurance after the deductible and coinsurance have been
deducted
Benefit Period ✔✔Episode of care within hospitals & skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Begins on
admission and ends 60 days after care has ended
Benefits ✔✔The money or services provided through an insurance policy
Board Certified ✔✔Doctor specializing in certain area of medicine and who passes an advanced
exam. Primary care and specialists can both be board certified
Business Associate ✔✔Someone performs a function on behalf of a covered entity but is not part
of the covered entity's workforce, outside business manager.
Capitation ✔✔Specified amount of money is paid to a health plan or doctor regardless of the
services rendered in that period. One lump sum.
Care Plan ✔✔Written plan of services patient will receive to ensure the patient's best care
physically, mentally & socially
Caregiver ✔✔Someone who cares for a patient who is ill, disabled, or aged. Can be relatives,
friends or someone who is paid.
Case Management ✔✔Physician, nurse, or other person tracks use of facilities and resources of a
patient to be sure they are receiving the care they need.
Case Mix ✔✔Distribution of patients into categories reflecting severity of illness or resource uses.
Case Mix Index ✔✔The average Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG) relative weight for all
Medicare admissions
Catastrophic Illness ✔✔Serious and costly health problem that could be life-threatening or cause
disability. Costs can cause patient financial hardship.
Catastrophic Limit ✔✔The highest amount a beneficiary is required to pay out of pocket during a
certain period of time for certain covered charges.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ✔✔Organization that protects public health
through monitoring disease trends, investigation outbreaks, implementing illness, and injury
control.
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ✔✔The Heath & Human Services (HHS) agency
responsible for Medicare & parts of Medicaid. Maintains UB-04, oversight of HIPAA and
maintains HCPCS code set & Medicare remittance advice (RA) remark codes. They promote
higher quality care
Certification ✔✔the hospital passed a survey done by a state government agency. Medicare only
covers hospital stays in hospitals that are certified or accredited.
Civilian Health and Medical Program (CHAMPUS) ✔✔Run by department of defense. Used to
give medical care to active duty but now this is called TRICARE
Charge Description Master (CDM) ✔✔Electronic billing table where charge amounts are kept in
a centralized place.
Claim ✔✔Request for payment for services or benefits received. Claims are called bills through
Medicare Part A
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes ✔✔Identifies the reason for any difference in charge and
payment. This code set is used in the X12 835 Claim Payment & Remittance Advice and the X12
837 Claim transactions and is maintained by Health Care Code Maintenance Committee
Claim Status Code ✔✔Identifies the status of a claim. This code set is used in the X12N 277 Claim
Status Inquiry and Response transactions and is mainted by the Health Care Code Maintenance
Committee
CMS Agent ✔✔State survey agency who participates in Medicare surveys and certification
process. ex. private physician consulting with the State Agency (SA) or CMS regional office.
UB-04 ✔✔Claim form used by hospitals and facilities for billing procedures and services.
CMS1500 ✔✔Claim form used for billing physiicans and other services, ex physical therapy.
Code of Federal Regulations ✔✔Official compiliation of federal rules and requirements
Code Set ✔✔Set of codes used to encode data elements terms, codes, concepts, required under
HIPAA
Coinsurance ✔✔Percentage of medical bill the beneficiary is responsible for paying.
Community Mental Health Services ✔✔Facility provides outpatient services for children, elderly,
chronically ill, & residents discharged from inpatient treatment at a mental health facility. 24 hour
day emergency care, partial hospitalization or psychosocial rehab, & screening for admission to
inpatient facility.
Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility ✔✔Inpatient rehabilitation to patient's with
physical disabilities.
Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility (CORF) ✔✔Outpatient rehabilitation
Conditional Payment ✔✔A payment made by Medicare in which another payer is responsible.
Ex,, Auto is in litigation, if they pay, then Medicare will be reimbursed
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Recondiliation Act (COBRA) ✔✔A law that helps keep people
covered by employer groups after coverage ended due to death of a spouse, losing a job, reduced
hours, leaving voluntarily, or getting a divorce. The beneficiary may have to pay the premium
however there is no administrative fee.
Coordination of Benefits ✔✔The process of determining which policy is first when a patient has
2 health care plans.
Coordination Period ✔✔A period of time where the employer group health will pay first on the
bill and Medicare will pay 2nd.
Cost Rate ✔✔Ratio of cost of the program on an incurrerd basis during a year to the taxable payroll
for the year.
Cost Report ✔✔Report required from providers on an annual basis in order to make proper
determination of amounts payable under Medicare program.
Cost Sharing ✔✔The cost of medical care the patient must pay, coinsurance, deductible, etc.
Covered Benefit ✔✔A health service or item that is included in the health plan and paid for
partially or in full.
Covered Charges ✔✔Services or benefits for which a health plan makes either partial or full
payment.
Covered Entity ✔✔Under HIPAA, this is a health plan, clearninghouse, or provider who transmits
any health information in electronic format in connection with HIPAA transaction.
Covered Services ✔✔Services for which a carrier pays as defined and limited by coverage or
statute. physician care, outpatient hospitals, diagnostic tests, DME, ambulance, and other health
services.
Critical Access Hospital ✔✔Small facility that gives limited outpatient and inpatient hospital
services in rural areas
Current Dental Terminology (CDT) ✔✔Medical code set of dental procedures maintained and
copyrighted by American Dental Association (ADA) and adopted by the secretary of Health and
Human Services (HHS) as a standard for reporting dental services and transactions
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) ✔✔Medical code set of physician and other services,
maintained and copyrighted by American Medical Association (AMA) and adopted as a standard
for reporting physician and other services.
Custodial Care ✔✔Non-skilled personal care attendance (PCA) to help with Activities of Daily
Living (ADL) like eating, bathing, etc.
Custodial Care Facility ✔✔Provides room and board, and other personal assistance on a long term
basis but does not include medical care.
Date of Service ✔✔The actual date a particular service was performed
Deductible ✔✔An annual amount or out of pocket expense the subscriber must pay either
individually or per family.
Deductible (Medicare) ✔✔The amount a beneficiary must pay for health care before Medicare
begins to pay, either Part A or Part B. These amounts vary every year.
Demographic Data ✔✔Describes the characteristics of the enrollee populations within a managed
care entity, age, sex, race, etc
Demonstrations ✔✔Projects and contracts that CMS has signed with various health care
organizations. Used to evaluate the effects and impact of various health care initiatives and the
cost of implications to the public.
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) ✔✔Administers many of the social programs
at the federal level dealing with the health and welfare of citizens of the United States. (Parent of
CMS)
Descriptor ✔✔The text defining a code in a code set
Designated Code Set ✔✔Medical code set or administrative code set required to be used by the
adopted implementation specification for standard transaction
Diagnosis ✔✔Disease, signs, or symptoms that indicate the patient's condition and support
medical necessity for services provided.
Diagnosis Code ✔✔Code within the ICD-9 that explains the reason for the medical encounter and
for underlying conditions that contribute to the patient's care and effect treatment receive or length
of stay.
Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG's) ✔✔Classification system that groups patients according to
diagnosis, type of treatment, age and other relevant criteria. Under the prospective payment system
(PPS), hospitals are paid a set fee for treating patient's in a DRG category.
Disability ✔✔Inability to engage in activity for medical reasons expected to last more than 12
months
Discharge Planning ✔✔Process of deciding what a patient needs to move smoothly from one level
of care to another, ex. hospital to nursing home.
Disproportionate Share Hospital ✔✔Large share of low income patients. States subside under
Medicaid and Medicare inpatient payments are higher.
Downcode ✔✔Reduce the value and code of a claim when documentation does not support the
level of service billed by provider.
DRG Coding ✔✔The MS-DRG categories used by hospitals on discharge billing.
Dual Eligibility ✔✔Persons covered under Medicare and Medicaid
Durable Medical Equipment (DME) ✔✔Medical Equipment ordered by a doctor for use in the
home. Must be reusable, ex. walker, wheelchair.
Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carrier (DMERC) ✔✔A private company that contracts
with Medicare to pay bills for durable medical equipment (DME)
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) ✔✔Exchange of transactions from one computer to another in
a standard format
EDI Translator ✔✔A software tool for accepting an EDI transmission and converting data into
another format
Edit ✔✔Logic within Standard Claims Processing System that selects claim data and determines
the payment
Emergency Care ✔✔When patient's health is in serious danger and every second counts
Emergency Room (Hospital) ✔✔Part of hospital where emergency diagnosis and treatment of
illness is provided 24 hours a day
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) ✔✔Requires Medicare
participating hospitals provide appropriate screening examination to any patient that requests such
an exam. The patient must be stabilized before transferring care.
Encounter Data ✔✔Detailed data about the patients services provided by a managed care entity.
Similiar to that of a claim form. Sometimes called "shadow claims"
Enrollment Period ✔✔Certain period of time when a subscriber can join a health plan.
Episode of Care ✔✔Health care services given during a certain period of time, usually during a
hospital stay.
Explanation of Benefits EOB(Remittance Advise (RA)- Medicare) ✔✔Explanation from
insurance with details of payment, denials, etc.
Exclusions ✔✔Not covered by insurance carrier, ex. prescriptions, eye care
Facility Charge ✔✔Insurance companies pay less and charge a cost for the facility where services
where rendered.
Federal Register ✔✔Daily publication for rules of federal agencies and organizations as well as
executive orders and other presidential documents.
Fee Schedule ✔✔A complete listing of fees used by the health plan to pay
Fiscal Intermediary ✔✔A private company that contracts with Medicare to pay Part A and some
Part B claims. (Also called Intermediary)
Fixed Capital Assets ✔✔The net worth of facilities and other resources
Formulary Drugs ✔✔Listing of prescription medications that are approved for use and/or covered
by plans
Fraud and Abuse ✔✔Fraud is to purposely bill services not given or for higher reimbursement
than give. Abuse is payment for services billed by mistake but should not have been paid for.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) ✔✔Law requiring US government to give information to the
public when it receives a written request, only records of executive branch. NOT congress, federal
courts, state or local governments or private groups.
Fully Accredited ✔✔Designation that all standards have been met and approved by Center for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) without any other actions.
Group Health Plan ✔✔Health plan providing coverage to employees & families and supported by
employer.
Guidelines ✔✔Developed by appropriate groups to assist providers with decisions in specific
clinical situations.
Health Care Clearinghouse ✔✔Public or private entity that processes data from nonstandard to
standard and/or receives standard transactions from another entity to convert
Health Care Code Maintenance Committee ✔✔Administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield
Association (BCBSA) maintains coding schemes used in X12 transactions and elsewhere. They
include claim adjustment reason codes, claims status category codes and claim status codes.
Health Care Prepayment Plan (HCPPP) ✔✔Managed care organization that pays for all in network
services after a monthly premium, deductible and copayment. Out of network services are payable
by the patient.
Health Care Provider ✔✔Person trained and licensed to give health care and has a licensed place
to treat patients. Doctors, nurses, or hospitals are examples.
Health Care Quality Improvement Program (HCQIP) ✔✔Supports mission of CMS to assure
health security for beneficiaries and improving quality of care.
Health Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) ✔✔Set of standard performance measures
that give you information about the quality of a health plan. Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) collects HEDIS data for Medicare patients.
Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) ✔✔Represents the interest of commercial health
care insurers. Participates in HCPCS Level II code data sets.
Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) ✔✔Number assigned to insurance carrier/ beneficiary
identifying them as the insurance subscriber.
Health Plan ✔✔Entity that assumes the risk of paying for medical treatment.
Health Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS) ✔✔Medical code set that identifies health
care procedures, equipment and supplies for claim submission purposes. Level I is Current
Procedural Terminology (CPT) maintained by the AMA. Level II is alpha numeric identifying
items not found in CPT and maintained by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and the Health Insurance Association of American
(HIAA)
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