If you need help studying for the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam or just want some more information about what the test is like, you’ve come to the right place.
Click below to take a free CCA practice test!
What’s on the Exam?
How to Register
Required Code Books
Exam Scores
Retaking the Exam
FAQs
Exam Eligibility
All you need before you can take the CCA exam is a high school diploma (or an equivalent). That’s it!
That being said, there are a few things that AHIMA strongly recommends you achieve before you register:
- Get at least six months of coding experience
- Finish an AHIMA-approved PCAP program
- Finish an AHIMA-approved coding training program
Again, these are just suggestions, but you’re more likely to succeed if you have a little experience under your belt.
What’s on the Exam?
First, let’s talk about the questions on the exam. There are 105 multiple-choice questions total, but only 90 of the questions will count toward your score. Why is that?
The 15 unscored questions on the exam are called “pretest” questions. These are added to the exam to determine if they’re good enough questions to add to future versions of the test.
The trick is that you won’t have any way of knowing which questions are scored and which ones are pretest. They will appear just like the scored questions throughout the test.
The time limit for the exam is 2 hours. There aren’t any scheduled breaks, but you’re free to take restroom breaks as needed.
Let’s take a closer look at the different sections of the Certified Coding Associate exam.
1. Clinical Classification Systems
30%-34% of the exam
- Applying outpatient coding guidelines
- Utilizing appropriate modifiers
- Incorporating clinical vocabularies and terminologies in health information systems
- Assigning inpatient codes
- Assigning outpatient codes
- Assigning physician codes
- Consulting reference materials for code assignment facilitation
- Applying physician coding guidelines
- Sequencing codes based on the healthcare setting
- Abstracting pertinent details from medical records
- Applying inpatient coding guidelines
- Interpreting healthcare data for code assignment
- Determining an Evaluation and Management (E/M) Level
2. Reimbursement Methodologies
21%-25% of the exam
- Communicating with financial departments
- Reconciling NCCI edits
- DRG methodology
- Validating medical necessity using LCD and NCD
- Evaluating NCCI edits
- Applying CPT guidelines for bundling and unbundling
- Processing claim denials
- APC methodology
- Linking diagnoses and CPT® codes according to payer-specific guidelines
- Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCC) and risk adjustment
- Evaluating claim denials
- Communicating with physicians for documentation clarification
- Sequencing codes for appropriate reimbursement
- Claim form types
3. Health Records and Data Content
13%-17% of the exam
- Retrieving patient information from the master patient index
- Performing data abstraction
- Requesting patient-specific documentation from other sources
- Understanding the various components of the medical record
- Retrieving medical records
- Interpreting coding data reports
- Analyzing medical records quantitatively for completeness
- Analyzing medical records qualitatively for deficiencies
- Educating providers on health data standards
4. Compliance
12%-16% of the exam
- Clarifying documentation through ethical physician queries
- Assisting in preparing the organization for external audits
- Identifying discrepancies between coded data and supporting documentation
- Performing ethical coding
- Validating that codes assigned by providers or electronic systems are supported by appropriate documentation
- Researching the latest coding changes for fee/charge ticket and chargemaster
- Implementing the latest coding changes for fee/charge ticket and chargemaster
- Educating providers on compliant coding practices
5. Information Technologies
6%-10% of the exam
- Navigating through the EHR
- Utilizing encoding and grouping software
- Validating codes assigned by CAC software
- Utilizing practice management and HIM systems
- Utilizing CAC software for automatic code assignment based on electronic text
6. Confidentiality and Privacy
6%-10% of the exam
- Maintaining a secure work environment
- Ensuring patient confidentiality
- Educating healthcare staff on privacy and confidentiality concerns
- Recognizing and reporting privacy issues or violations
- Utilizing passcodes and passwords
- Accessing only the minimal necessary documentation or information
- Releasing patient-specific data to authorized individuals
- Protecting electronic documents and protected health information (PHI) through encryption
- Transferring electronic documents via secure sites
- Retaining confidential records appropriately
- Destroying confidential records properly
- Information blocking
How to Register
To get started, you’ll need to submit an application on AHIMA’s website. The application will ask you for your contact information and any documentation to prove your eligibility (among other things).
When you submit the application, you’ll also need to submit the testing fee, which is $299. If you’re an AHIMA member, you will only have to pay $199.
CCA Study Guide and Flashcards
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Required Code Books
On test day, you’ll need to bring three code books with you from the approved list of books.
The first book you have to bring is the AMA’s CPT® 2024 Professional Edition. For the other two books, you get to choose one ICD-10-CM book and one ICD-10-PCS book.
Exam Scores
The test is scored using a scaled scoring method. Here’s how it works:
You will need a score of 300 to pass the test.
The reason your raw score is converted to a scaled score is because everyone who takes the test is given a slightly different set of questions. Since everyone has a different arrangement of questions, and because some questions are harder than others, converting your raw score to a scaled score ensures a more even playing field.
Retaking the Exam
If you didn’t get a passing score on your first try, that’s okay! You can retake the test after a 30-day waiting period.
Keep in mind that you will have to pay the full testing fee every time you retake the test.
FAQs
How many questions are on the CCA exam?
The exam contains 105 questions.
What is the time limit for the CCA exam?
The exam is timed at 2 hours.
What is the passing score for the CCA exam?
You’ll need to get a final scaled score of at least 300 to pass.
How much does the CCA exam cost?
The testing fee is $299 ($199 for members).