ICD-10-CM PCS Inpatient Coding

  How HCC Coding for Atrial Fibrillation Can Boost or Bust Your Reimbursement   Hey there, medical coders! If you’re navigating the wild world of Medicare Advantage (MA) or Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), you know Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) coding is the backbone of getting paid fairly. It’s not just about slapping codes on a claim—it’s about painting an accurate picture of a patient’s health to ensure health plans get the funding needed for their care. Today, we’re diving deep into atrial fibrillation (AFib) , one of the most common chronic conditions in HCC coding, and how getting it right (or wrong) can swing your reimbursement by thousands. We’ll cover clinical insights, ICD-10-CM codes, real-world examples, common pitfalls, and the revenue impact of nailing your Risk Adjustment Factor (RAF) scores. Grab a coffee, and let’s get coding! What is HCC Coding, and Why Does It Matter? Before we zoom into AFib, let’s set the stage. HCC coding is the risk adj...

  HCC Coding Guidelines Part 5: Chronic Conditions That Must Be Captured In HCC coding, some conditions stay with the patient for life and continue to affect the cost of care. These are chronic, progressive, or irreversible diseases, and they carry significant HCC weight. Capturing them correctly ensures that risk scores truly reflect the patient’s health status and that providers are reimbursed appropriately for the complexity of care. Common Chronic Conditions That Impact HCCs Below is a list of conditions that are generally lifelong and not reversible . Coders must carefully review documentation and apply HCC guidelines when coding them: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Alzheimer’s Disease Amputation Status Asbestosis Bipolar Disorder Crohn’s Disease Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) / Renal Failure Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) / Chronic Bronchitis / Chronic Asthma Cirrhosis of the Liver (unless resolved with transplant) Congestive...

How HCC Coding Impacts Reimbursement: Real Examples of Revenue Gain and Loss This is Part 4 of your HCC blog series, Healthcare providers who work with Medicare Advantage (MA) patients or Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) know that Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) coding directly affects reimbursement. Unlike hospital billing with DRGs (where CCs/MCCs drive revenue), HCC coding is all about risk adjustment . Each chronic condition contributes a risk weight that determines how much funding a health plan receives to care for a patient over a year. Let’s break down how it works — and how missing, overcoding, or undercoding can cost thousands of dollars. 1. Each Chronic Condition = a Risk Weight Every chronic diagnosis has an assigned risk adjustment factor (RAF) . The more complex or costly the condition, the higher the weight. Example – Diabetes: E11.9 – Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus without complications Risk Weight ≈ 0.105 E11.22 – Type 2 Diabetes with Chronic K...

In this part of our HCC coding series, we’ll cover several major body systems using ICD-10-CM guidelines. These conditions are highly relevant for risk adjustment and HCC capture, so accurate coding is critical. 1. Diseases of the Circulatory System Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) In ICD-10-CM, hypertension and CKD have an assumed causal relationship. Example: I12.9 – Hypertensive CKD, Stage 1–4. For hypertension and heart disease, a provider must clearly document the linkage (e.g., “hypertensive heart disease”).  Note: Hypertension without complications does not map to an HCC. Myocardial Infarction (MI) Commonly called a heart attack. In ICD-10-CM, acute MI is coded from category I21. Example: I21.3 – ST elevation (STEMI) of unspecified site. NSTEMI is coded as I21.4. Coding Tip: Acute MI is reportable only if it is ≤4 weeks old. After that, it is considered an old MI (I25.2 – Old myocardial infarction). Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA / Stroke) Initial/acute CVA is co...

HCC Coding – Part 2 (ICD-10-CM) Neoplasms (Cancer) When coding cancers, always confirm from documentation whether the tumor is benign, in situ, malignant, or of uncertain behavior . Active cancer codes should be reported only if the patient is receiving active treatment (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery). After Cancer Removal If the primary cancer is excised or eradicated , and: there is no ongoing treatment, and there is no evidence of active disease, then code a personal history of cancer (Z85.-) instead of active cancer. Cancer can also be reported as current if it is found in a pathology report and documented by the provider, even without active treatment. Metastatic Cancer Metastatic (secondary) cancers have the highest HCC weight . If documentation does not clarify whether it is primary or secondary, certain sites are assumed to be secondary in HCC coding: Bone (C79.5) Brain (C79.3) Diaphragm (C78.6) Heart (C79.89) Liver (C78.7) Lymph nodes (...

What is HCC? HCC means Hierarchical Condition Category . It is a model used by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) to adjust risk and predict future healthcare cost of a patient. Basically, it shows the real health status of a patient based on chronic and some serious acute conditions. CMS has around 189 HCC categories . Started in 1994 , now it is backbone of Medicare Advantage risk adjustment. HCCs come from ICD-10-CM codes written by providers. Not all ICD-10 codes are HCC, but the ones that are included affect CMS payments and show the true patient condition. Medicare Plan Basics Part A – Inpatient hospital, SNF, hospice Part B – OP visits, preventive care, DME Part C – Medicare Advantage (A + B combined) Part D – Pharmacy benefits Principles of HCC Coding Code only if condition is clinically proved in medical record. Chronic conditions should be coded every year if doctor is monitoring, evaluating, assessing, or treating (MEAT). Capture a...

Pain Discipline Tracker for Medical Coders Short pain today = Long-term coding success tomorrow. No pain today = Endless regret tomorrow. Instructions Mark each time block (Morning, Afternoon, Night) with ✅ (Discipline: e.g., coded charts, studied CPT, reviewed guidelines) or ❌ (Regret: e.g., scrolled X, procrastinated). Add a note. Results update automatically! Day Morning Afternoon Night Notes Result Monday - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ Tuesday - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ Wednesday - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ Thursday - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ - ✅ ❌ Friday - ✅ ❌ ...

Und erstanding Chorioamnionitis and Placenta Pathology Reports — A Simple Guide If you find chorioamnionitis mentioned only in a pathology report and not in the physician’s notes, you should raise a confirmation query . This ensures accurate documentation and coding — and because chorioamnionitis is an MCC (Major Complication or Comorbidity), it can impact hospital reimbursement. What a Placenta Pathology Report Might Look Like Here’s an example of how a placental pathology report might appear in the chart: > FINAL DIAGNOSIS PLACENTA: Mature 3rd trimester placenta Hypercoiled three-vessel umbilical cord with funisitis Fetal membranes: Chorioamnionitis GROSS DESCRIPTION Received in formalin, labeled with the patient's name, is a 558-gram, 16 x 16 x 3 cm discoid placenta. Umbilical cord measures 56 cm, three vessels, central insertion, appears hypercoiled. Fetal surface gray-blue with normal vascular pattern. Maternal surface intact. Sectioning reveals spongy maroon parenchyma,...

  DRG 003 – Tracheostomy with Long Ventilation and Serious Illness In hospital, sometimes we get very sick patients who stay long time and need big treatments. One of these serious cases go to DRG 003 . This DRG is for patients who get tracheostomy or ECMO and stay on ventilator for more than 96 hours , and also have major diagnosis that is not from face, mouth, or neck area. Also, patient must have at least one MCC (major complication or condition). This DRG is not based on diagnosis like other DRGs. It is based on procedures , and it comes in Pre-MDC category. These are highest-level DRGs for very complex patients. Example Case: Mistake in Procedure Coding Changed the DRG In one real case, a patient came to hospital with stroke and later needed tracheostomy to help with breathing. During this surgery, doctor did division of isthmus to reach the trachea. This is normal step when doing tracheostomy. But coder coded it as separate surgery , thinking it is a different pro...