F01.53
BillableVascular dementia, unspecified severity, with mood disturbance
Last updated: FY2026 ICD-10-CM (Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026) | CMS-HCC V28 (100% phase-in, PY2026)
Is F01.53 an HCC code?
Yes. F01.53 maps to Dementia, Mild or Unspecified under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model.
HCC Category Mapping
RAF weights shown are the community, non-dual, aged base weights from the CMS risk adjustment model file. Actual per-patient RAF contribution depends on member segment, interactions, and the model year used by the payer. V28 is the CMS-HCC model phased in over payment years 2024–2026; V24 remains in use during the transition and for historical data.
MEAT Criteria for F01.53
For F01.53 to count as a valid HCC diagnosis in a given encounter, the provider's documentation must show MEAT: Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat. A diagnosis from a prior year does not carry forward automatically — it has to be re-documented and supported each calendar year.
- MMonitor: signs, symptoms, disease progression, or lab trending documented in the note
- EEvaluate: test results, medication response, or physical findings reviewed by the provider
- AAssess: explicit mention in the assessment or plan with acknowledgment of status
- TTreat: medication, referral, procedure, therapy, or counseling tied to the diagnosis
Only one of M/E/A/T is required to support the code, but the documentation must be specific enough to show that the provider actually addressed F01.53 during that encounter — not just copy-forwarded from a problem list.
What This Code Means
F01.53 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for vascular dementia, unspecified severity, with mood disturbance. Dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, with mood disturbances such as depression or emotional instability. F01.53 sits in the ICD-10-CM chapter for mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders (f01-f99), within the section covering mental disorders due to known physiological conditions (f01-f09).
Under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model, F01.53 maps to Dementia, Mild or Unspecified (HCC 127) with a community, non-dual, aged base RAF weight of 0.464. F01.53 was not retained as a payment HCC under the older V24 model, so V28 introduced or recategorized it during the 2024–2026 phase-in. V28 is the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model that reached 100% phase-in for payment year 2026, replacing V24 which was used during the PY2024–PY2025 transition.
Mood disturbance includes depression, emotional lability, or other mood changes secondary to the dementia. Because F01.53 maps to a payment HCC, the provider's documentation must satisfy MEAT criteria (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) for the encounter to count toward the patient's Medicare Advantage risk adjustment score. When documentation is ambiguous, coders should issue a provider query rather than assume the highest-specificity variant.
HCC Buddy maintains structured V28 and V24 mapping, RAF weights, and MEAT documentation criteria for F01.53 sourced directly from the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model files and the CMS ICD-10-CM code set.
Coding Tips
- •Mood disturbance includes depression, emotional lability, or other mood changes secondary to the dementia
- •Document whether mood symptoms are primary or secondary to the vascular dementia
Clinical Significance
Vascular dementia with mood disturbance captures depression, apathy, emotional lability, or other mood changes occurring in the context of cerebrovascular-related cognitive decline. Depression in vascular dementia is common and may accelerate cognitive decline, making recognition and treatment critical.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Diagnosis of vascular dementia with cerebrovascular etiology
- ✓Specific mood disturbance documented (depression, apathy, emotional lability, irritability)
- ✓Cognitive assessment results
- ✓Mood assessment tool results (PHQ-9, GDS) if available
- ✓Treatment plan for mood disturbance (antidepressant therapy, psychosocial interventions)
- ✓Distinction from behavioral or psychotic disturbances