Advanced practice for experienced medical coders
AAPC CPC-M Practice Exam 2026-2027: 120 Questions & Answers
Prepare for the AAPC Certified Professional Coder - Master (CPC-M™) examination with an independently published CPC-M practice exam built for experienced medical coders. This digital e-book provides 120 original AAPC CPC-M practice questions with answers, detailed explanations, and high-yield review notes for focused certification exam preparation.
Published independently by MedicalBillingTips. This is not an official, sponsored, approved, or endorsed AAPC product.
What readers receive
The book is organized as a structured practice bank for advanced coding decisions. It emphasizes applied reasoning rather than introductory terminology review.
Practice and review features
- 120 original scenario-based multiple-choice questions
- Four answer choices for every question
- A clearly identified most appropriate answer
- Detailed reasoning for every correct answer
- High-yield review notes for focused revision
Who this book is for
- Experienced medical coders preparing for CPC-M certification
- Coders who want practice with complex documentation and code selection
- Team leads, auditors, compliance staff, and revenue-integrity professionals
- Readers who already understand core medical coding concepts
Knowledge areas covered in the book
The five sections below are taken directly from the uploaded e-book. They describe the book's organization and should not be represented as an official CPC-M examination blueprint.
Advanced E/M and auditing
25 questions covering advanced evaluation and management decisions and auditing concepts.
Complex surgical coding
25 questions involving advanced procedural coding across multiple surgical specialties.
Advanced specialty surgery
25 questions involving digestive, urinary, genital, nervous, eye, and ear procedures.
Ancillary and medicine services
25 questions covering radiology, pathology, laboratory, medicine, and anesthesia coding.
Compliance and case decisions
20 questions involving regulatory compliance, NCCI edits, modifiers, and advanced cases.
Important format note: AAPC currently describes the official CPC-M exam as a 70-item assessment that includes multiple-choice, multiple-select, and complex case-study formats. This independent book contains 120 single-best-answer A-D practice questions. It is a supplemental practice bank, not a replica of the official examination format.
For current exam details, eligibility information, policies, and terminology, review the official AAPC CPC-M certification page.
10 free CPC-M practice questions
These representative questions are selected from the independently published e-book. They are original educational practice content and are not actual or recalled certification-exam questions.
A 72-year-old Medicare beneficiary returns for an Annual Wellness Visit. The record shows that the initial Medicare AWV was completed 18 months earlier. During today's appointment, the patient also reports severe right lower-quadrant abdominal pain and nausea that began the previous day. The physician performs a distinct problem-oriented evaluation, orders laboratory testing and an abdominal CT, and directs the patient to the emergency department. The separately documented acute service supports moderate medical decision making. Which coding combination is most appropriate?
An established office patient is evaluated for a persistent chronic cough. The physician reviews an outside chest radiograph performed and globally billed by an independent imaging center, documents an independent interpretation of the image in the medical record, and writes a new prescription for an inhaled corticosteroid. No other diagnostic test data is ordered or analyzed. What level of Data is assigned in the MDM calculation?
A surgeon removes a malignant melanoma from the right cheek and closes the surgical defect by designing and rotating a rhomboid flap. The operative report documents a combined primary and secondary defect area of 9.5 sq cm. Which CPT coding is most appropriate?
A dermatologist performs Mohs micrographic surgery on a 2.0 cm basal cell carcinoma on the nose. Stage 1 involves excising the lesion and mapping four tissue blocks; microscopic review reveals positive margins. Stage 2 involves excising and examining two additional tissue blocks, which clears the surgical margins. What CPT codes should be reported?
During an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) performed on a Medicare beneficiary, a gastroenterologist removes a 1.5 cm gastric polyp using a snare technique and performs a cold forceps biopsy on a separate suspicious esophageal lesion. How should these services be billed?
Want all 120 questions? Continue with the complete practice bank, explanations, and high-yield review notes.
Get the Complete E-Book on GumroadAn ophthalmologist performs cataract surgery on a patient with Intraoperative Floppy Iris Syndrome (IFIS) and a non-dilating pupil, requiring insertion of a Malyugin iris expansion ring prior to phacoemulsification and intraocular lens insertion. What CPT code applies?
A patient with lung cancer presents with acute headaches. The radiologist performs a brain MRI without intravenous contrast, followed by intravenous gadolinium administration and further contrast sequences. What is the CPT code?
A dehydrated patient receives a therapeutic IV hydration infusion of normal saline starting at 10:00 AM and ending at 11:15 AM, for a total of 75 minutes. What CPT code applies?
A billing claim is denied because two procedures performed on different anatomical sites are flagged as mutually exclusive under NCCI edits. The NCCI modifier indicator for the code pair is "1." What is the correct corrective action?
A practice discovers a billing error that caused $15,000 in Medicare overpayments over two years. Under the ACA 60-day rule, within how many days of identifying the overpayment must it be reported and returned?
Sample answer key
Answers, explanations, and high-yield notes
Sample 1
Correct answer: D. G0439 and 99214-25
G0439 applies because the beneficiary previously received the initial Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, making this a subsequent AWV. The abdominal-pain assessment is medically necessary and separately identifiable from the wellness components, so the established-patient E/M service may also be reported with modifier 25. Moderate MDM supports 99214.
Sample 2
Correct answer: B. Moderate
A documented independent interpretation of a test performed by another physician or qualified healthcare professional, when the interpretation is not separately reported, satisfies Category 2 of the Data element. Category 2 supports a Moderate Data level.
Sample 3
Correct answer: B. 14040
Code 14040 is selected because the adjacent tissue transfer involves the cheek and the combined primary and secondary defect area does not exceed 10.0 sq cm. The 9.5 sq cm total falls within that range. The malignant-lesion excision is included in the adjacent tissue transfer work for the same lesion and is not separately reported.
Sample 4
Correct answer: B. 17311 and 17312
For Mohs surgery on the head or neck, 17311 reports the first stage with up to five tissue blocks. Add-on code 17312 reports each additional stage with up to five blocks. The four blocks in Stage 1 support 17311, and the two blocks in Stage 2 support one unit of 17312. Code 17315 is not needed because neither stage exceeds five blocks.
Sample 5
Correct answer: B. 43251 and 43239-59
Code 43251 reports EGD with removal of a tumor or polyp by snare technique, while 43239 reports EGD with biopsy. A biopsy performed on the same lesion is generally included in the removal service. Here, the biopsy is performed on a separate esophageal lesion, so modifier 59, or a payer-recognized appropriate X modifier, identifies the distinct biopsy service.
Sample 6
Correct answer: A. 66982
Code 66982 describes complex cataract removal with intraocular lens insertion when the procedure requires qualifying devices or techniques, including an iris expansion ring for a non-dilating pupil. The Malyugin ring supports complex cataract coding rather than routine code 66984.
Sample 7
Correct answer: B. 70553
Code 70553 reports a brain MRI performed without contrast, followed by contrast administration and additional contrast sequences. Because the study includes both unenhanced and enhanced imaging, the combination code is appropriate.
Sample 8
Correct answer: A. 96360
Code 96360 reports the initial 31 to 60 minutes of IV hydration. The add-on code 96361 requires a sufficient additional time interval beyond the first hour. A total infusion time of 75 minutes supports 96360 but does not reach the threshold for 96361.
Sample 9
Correct answer: B. Append modifier 59 or an appropriate X{EPSU} modifier to the Column 2 code.
An NCCI modifier indicator of "1" means a qualifying modifier may be used to bypass the edit when the clinical circumstances and documentation support distinct services. Different anatomical sites may support modifier 59 or, when recognized by the payer, a more specific X{EPSU} modifier on the Column 2 code.
Sample 10
Correct answer: B. 60 days
Under the ACA overpayment rule, an identified Medicare overpayment generally must be reported and returned within 60 days of identification, subject to the applicable statutory timing provisions. Retaining an identified overpayment beyond the required period can create False Claims Act exposure.
Continue your CPC-M preparation. Review the remaining 110 questions and their explanations in the complete e-book.
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1. Is this an official AAPC product?
No. This is an independently published educational resource. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, approved by, licensed by, or endorsed by AAPC or any other examination organization.
2. Does the e-book contain actual examination questions?
No. The questions are original practice content created for educational use. They are not actual, recalled, leaked, or confidential CPC-M examination questions.
3. What does the e-book include?
It includes 120 scenario-based, single-best-answer questions with A-D choices, a most appropriate answer for each item, detailed answer explanations, and high-yield review notes. The questions are arranged in five sections covering the knowledge areas listed above.
4. What format will I receive?
This is sold as a digital e-book. The uploaded review copy was a DOCX file, and the public Gumroad delivery format could not be independently verified while preparing this page. International customers should confirm the file type displayed on the Gumroad product or checkout page before purchasing. India customers should confirm the delivery format with MedicalBillingTips before payment.
5. Is this book suitable for beginners or experienced candidates?
The book is written primarily for experienced medical coders and candidates who already understand core coding concepts. It is an advanced practice bank, not a beginner-level medical coding course.
6. Are official codebooks, textbooks, or reference manuals included?
No. The purchase covers only this independently published digital practice e-book. CPT, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, payer manuals, official study guides, textbooks, and other reference products are not included.
7. Does purchasing the e-book guarantee a passing score?
No. The e-book is a study aid. Purchasing, reading, or completing it does not guarantee a passing score, certification, employment, promotion, or any other result.
8. How do international customers purchase the e-book?
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Practice advanced coding decisions with clear explanations
Use the free questions above to evaluate the style and level. When you are ready, continue with the complete 120-question independent practice e-book.
Independent-publication disclaimer
This independently published educational resource is not affiliated with, sponsored by, approved by, licensed by, or endorsed by AAPC or any examination or certification organization. AAPC, Certified Professional Coder - Master, CPC-M, organization names, examination names, abbreviations, and trademarks belong to their respective owners. They are used only to identify the examination for which this independent study resource may be relevant.
The practice questions are original educational content and are not actual, recalled, leaked, or confidential examination questions. Examination formats, policies, code sets, standards, and guidelines may change. Readers should consult current official resources and the codebooks or references applicable to their examination date. Purchasing or studying this e-book does not guarantee a passing score, certification, employment, promotion, reimbursement outcome, or any other specific result.
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