Medical Coding — Practice Questions flashcards

6 of 68 questions free to study here · 11 topics · the whole deck is built into Willys

Multiple-choice practice questions, one best answer each, across ICD-10-CM conventions and chapter guidelines, inpatient and outpatient selection, CPT and E/M, procedure sections, modifiers, HCPCS Level II, ICD-10-PCS and compliance.

Get the app All Medical coding: AAPC CPC and AHIMA CCA decks

Practice deck · part of Medical coding: AAPC CPC and AHIMA CCA · written against: ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines and code set FY 2027 (effective 1 October 2026); CPT structure and E/M guidelines described in our own words; HCPCS Level II, NCCI and ICD-10-PCS per CMS. Updated 2026-10-10.

Study the free sample

6 questions from the deck as they are. Flip, rate yourself, filter by topic; your progress stays in this browser.

The 6 sample questions as a list

A coder finds a code in the Alphabetic Index and assigns it without opening the Tabular List. What is the main risk?

A) The Index lists only codes from the prior fiscal year
B) The Index may omit characters such as laterality or the 7th character
C) The Index cannot be used for injury or poisoning codes
D) The Index gives only three-character category headings

B) The Index may omit characters such as laterality or the 7th character

Laterality and any required 7th character are chosen only in the Tabular List (Section I.B.1). The Index does give many complete codes, so D overstates the problem.
ICD-10-CM Conventions
A patient is admitted with severe sepsis due to MRSA pneumonia, both present on admission, and has acute respiratory failure from the sepsis. What is principal?

A) R65.20, severe sepsis without septic shock
B) The systemic MRSA infection (sepsis) code
C) The MRSA pneumonia code
D) The acute respiratory failure code

B) The systemic MRSA infection (sepsis) code

For severe sepsis present on admission, the systemic infection behind it is principal, followed by R65.2 and the organ dysfunction (Section I.C.1.d.3). The localized pneumonia is a secondary diagnosis, and R65.2 codes are never principal.
ICD-10-CM Chapter Guidelines › Infectious Diseases
A new emerging-technology service has a CPT code made of four digits and a T. What should the coder report?

A) An unlisted Category I code instead
B) The T code only if the payer has an LCD for it
C) The Category III code rather than an unlisted code
D) The T code together with a Category II code

C) The Category III code rather than an unlisted code

When a Category III code describes the service, it is reported instead of an unlisted Category I code. Category II codes are performance-tracking codes and do not describe the service.
CPT Structure
Which factors make up the anesthesia payment formula?

A) Base units, time units and modifying units, times a conversion factor
B) Work, practice expense and malpractice RVUs, times a conversion factor
C) Base units and the surgical global days, times a conversion factor
D) Time units and the surgeon's RVUs, times a conversion factor

A) Base units, time units and modifying units, times a conversion factor

Anesthesia is paid on base, time and modifying units, though Medicare's fee schedule counts only base and time units. The three RVU components belong to the RBRVS physician fee schedule.
CPT Sections › Anesthesia
Which HCPCS Level II section covers durable medical equipment?

A) A codes
B) E codes
C) J codes
D) L codes

B) E codes

The E section is durable medical equipment; A covers transportation and supplies, J mainly drugs given other than by mouth, and L orthotics and prosthetics.
HCPCS Level II
A hospital pays a physician a fee for each Medicare patient referred for MRI scans. Which law most directly prohibits paying for referrals?

A) The HIPAA Privacy Rule
B) The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act
C) The Anti-Kickback Statute
D) The Health Care Quality Improvement Act

C) The Anti-Kickback Statute

The Anti-Kickback Statute bars paying anything of value to induce or reward federal health care program referrals. HIPAA governs privacy, not referral payments.
Compliance and Reimbursement

Unlock the whole deck

You are studying a free 6-question sample. All 68 questions of Medical Coding — Practice Questions, the other 6 Medical coding: AAPC CPC and AHIMA CCA decks, and spaced-repetition scheduling are built into Willys. 14-day free trial, then $14.99 a year.

Get the app

In Willys, tap Exam Library at the top of your Decks (or Browse Exam Library… under the + button), find the exam on its shelf or by search, tick it and tap Add.

More Medical coding: AAPC CPC and AHIMA CCA decks

ICD-10-CM Conventions & General Guidelines ICD-10-CM Chapter Guidelines CPT Structure & E/M CPT Sections & Procedures Modifiers & HCPCS Level II ICD-10-PCS, Compliance & Reimbursement

← All Medical coding: AAPC CPC and AHIMA CCA decks, with the study guide and topic outline.

About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

ICD-10-CM codes and rules checked against the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting FY 2027 and the FY 2027 code files (CDC/NCHS and CMS, effective 1 October 2026; public domain). Code sets change every 1 October; check the current year's books.
HCPCS Level II, NCCI, Medicare and ICD-10-PCS items checked against the NCCI Policy Manual for Medicare Services 2026, the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Pub. 100-04), the October 2026 HCPCS Level II file and the ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting 2027 and FY 2027 code tables (CMS, public domain).
CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. No CPT descriptors are reproduced; CPT structure and guidelines are described in our own words.
CPC® is a registered trademark of AAPC, and CCA is a credential of AHIMA; neither is affiliated with, or endorses, this product.
Original questions written for this deck; no exam-owner, textbook or question-bank items were copied.

These are independent study notes written for Willys. They are not official exam material, may contain mistakes, and are no substitute for your course, your teacher or the exam owner's own publications. Found an error? Tell us — corrections ship as a new version of the deck.

Not coding, billing or compliance advice. These cards prepare you for a certification exam. Code sets change every year, so code real claims from the current ICD-10-CM, CPT® and HCPCS books and your payers' policies. No CPT descriptors are reproduced here.

CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association; no CPT descriptors are reproduced. CPC® is a registered trademark of AAPC, and CCA is a credential of AHIMA; neither is affiliated with, or endorses, this product.

Use of these pages is covered by our Terms of Use.