All ExamsCertified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS)Coding and Coding Guidelines

Coding and Coding Guidelines — Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) Practice Test

Coding and Coding GuidelinesQuestion 1 of 30

128 questions in this topic · 30 drawn at random this round

A patient returns for a cast check and routine follow-up on a fracture that is healing normally. The correct seventh-character extension for this injury encounter is:

NHA CBCS — Medical Billing & Coding

Questions cover the four official NHA domains: the revenue cycle and regulatory compliance (HIPAA, fraud vs abuse), insurance eligibility and payer requirements (coordination of benefits, cost-sharing, prior authorization), coding and coding guidelines (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, CPT and HCPCS Level II concepts, modifiers, NCCI), and billing and reimbursement (CMS-1500, rejection vs denial, appeals). Grounded in public standards (HHS HIPAA, CMS, NUCC, ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines) — no copyrighted CPT descriptors are reproduced. The real exam is English-only; the multilingual explanations are a study aid.

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This Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) Coding and Coding Guidelines practice set has 128 practice questions based on the official exam materials, each with an instant explanation.

Sample questions

Three questions from the Coding and Coding Guidelines bank with the correct answer and an explanation. The practice quiz above draws 30 questions at random from the same bank.

A complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code may contain how many characters?
- From 3 to 7 characters — Correct answer
- Exactly 5 characters
- From 1 to 4 characters
- Always 7 characters
Explanation: Per the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines and code-set conventions, a valid ICD-10-CM code is 3 to 7 characters long. Codes are never fewer than 3 characters and never more than 7. They are not fixed at 5 or 7 characters, and no valid code is only 1 or 2 characters. (NHA CBCS Domain 3; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines)
Handbook: Coding and Coding Guidelines — ICD-10-CM structure: code length (NHA CBCS Domain 3; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines)
In every ICD-10-CM code, the first character is always:
- A letter (alpha) — Correct answer
- A number (numeric)
- Either a letter or a number
- The letter U only
Explanation: By ICD-10-CM convention, the first character of a code is always a letter (alpha). All letters except U are currently used to begin categories. It is never a number, and it is not restricted to the single letter U. (NHA CBCS Domain 3; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines)
Handbook: Coding and Coding Guidelines — ICD-10-CM structure: first character (NHA CBCS Domain 3; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines)
In an ICD-10-CM code, the second character is always:
- A number (numeric) — Correct answer
- A letter (alpha)
- The letter X
- A decimal point
Explanation: By ICD-10-CM convention, the second character of a code is always numeric. Characters 3 through 7 may be either alpha or numeric. The second character is not a letter, is not the placeholder X, and is not the decimal point (the decimal is placed after the third character). (NHA CBCS Domain 3; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines)
Handbook: Coding and Coding Guidelines — ICD-10-CM structure: second character (NHA CBCS Domain 3; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines)