Using hierarchical condition category (HCC) coding to assign medical codes to patients helps clinicians and payers accurately assess the cost of health care. HCC coding is used to accurately code patients with costly chronic health conditions and those with severe acute conditions.
HCC codes represent costly chronic health conditions
Several years ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced hierarchical condition category coding to estimate the cost of patient care. Unfortunately, this approach takes a long-term view of patient prognosis and health complexity. As a result, the codes represent expensive chronic and severe acute health conditions.
The code set is made up of approximately 9,700 ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes. CMS has used it since 2004. The codes represent major disease categories, such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, cancer, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Private health plans, Medicaid, use the code set, and Medicare Advantage plans to determine their payments to healthcare organizations. The codes project health costs and ensure prices are commensurate with predicted expenditures.
Healthcare organizations must document all diagnoses and chronic conditions in the patient’s medical record. This documentation includes medical history, treatments, and procedures. To ensure proper payment, it is essential to document the diagnoses and chronic conditions to the highest degree of specificity.
The coding process has several steps. First, the clinician must describe the diagnosis and the patient’s chronic condition. CMS requires this documentation. The physician must also document the help the patient received during the encounter.
After the HCC codes are documented, the patient’s risk adjustment factor (RAF) is calculated. This factor is based on demographic and disease burden data multiplied by a predetermined dollar amount.
It helps in precision weighting the patients’ clinical problems
Hierarchical condition category coding, a sophisticated risk adjustment that aids healthcare companies in more precisely projecting patient health expenses, was created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2004. It reflects the long-term complexity of patient health problems and how they may affect the patient’s care.
A hierarchical condition category (HCC) is a group of diagnostic codes that map to different disease categories. These categories are used to adjust federal payments and Medicare Advantage plans. Initially, hierarchical condition categories were created to help predict patient costs. However, they also serve as a measure of patient complexity, which allows for determining the quality and price of care.
HCCs are also used to determine risk-adjustment factors (RAFs). These factors, which are assigned for gender, age, and living conditions, help to scale payments to reflect a patient’s risk. In addition, HCCs are used to determine compensation for professional services.
Several things could be improved about HCC coding. For example, some providers need to familiarize themselves with the system. However, a deeper understanding of this coding mechanism may help dispel some myths.
Providers must follow specific guidelines to ensure that an HCC code is used correctly. In particular, it is essential to document comorbidities when they are expected to affect the treatment decision-making process. The proper documentation of an HCC is also necessary to demonstrate high-quality, low-cost patient care in value-based contracts.
It helps in estimating a patient’s future healthcare costs
Using HCC codes, healthcare organizations can better predict the cost of their patient’s care. It enables them to determine appropriate funding and reduce the need for auditing claims. It also helps to create clean claims and provides fast reimbursements.
HCC coding is not new, but it has become increasingly popular due to the shift to value-based reimbursement models. It also helps to improve patient care. For example, coders can review medical records prospectively or retrospectively and identify patients with HCC.
The Centers use the HCC Risk Adjustment Model for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to calculate patient risk scores. The model also determines each patient’s risk adjustment factor (RAF). This factor and demographic information adjust payments to Medicare Advantage plans.
Before introducing the risk adjustment model, reimbursements were based on demographic factors alone. This model uses a more statistically precise approach, allowing for greater flexibility. The model can account for differences in patient complexity and patient health status.
HCCs can represent any number of acute or chronic medical conditions. Chronic conditions are necessary to the model because they serve as quality predictors of future healthcare needs. In addition, they can help to identify patients who require disease management.
Healthcare organizations must account for the costs of treating all patients’ conditions. The HCC model calculates the standard fees of all requirements by adding a demographic and health-status part.
