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F01.A18 ICD-10-CM Code: Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance

F01.A18 maps to CMS-HCC V28 127. A source-labeled RAF reference is available. Confirm the documented diagnosis and applicable coding requirements. MEAT criteria · RAF Calculator · free HCC coding tools

ICD-10-CM Code View

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Code lookupF01.A18

FY 2026 Apr update / Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders (F01-F99) / Mental disorders due to known physiological conditions (F01-F09)

F01.A18

Billable / SpecificICD-10-CMOfficial ICD-10-CMCodebook guidance

Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance

Early-stage dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain with behavioral problems other than agitation.

Buddy the Bee presenting code insight

Buddy Insight

Mild vascular dementia with other behavioral disturbance captures early-stage vascular cognitive decline with non-agitation behavioral symptoms such as wandering, sundowning, inappropriate social behavior, or sleep-wake cycle disturbances.

OverviewRisk ModelsCode BookDocumentationAuditNotesEdition comparison

CMS-HCC V28

HCC 127

Code-level coefficient reference

CMS-HCC V24

Historical

Historical

Not used for CY2026 payment

ACA/HHS

N/A

—

Not mapped

ESRD/PACE

N/A

—

Not mapped

RXHCC

N/A

—

Not mapped

Code Book Path

Official
F01.AVascular dementia, mildF01.A1Vascular dementia, mild, with behavioral disturbanceF01.A18Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance

Inclusion Terms

Official
  • Major neurocognitive disorder due to vascular disease, mild, with behavioral disturbances such as sleep disturbance, social disinhibition, or sexual disinhibition
  • Vascular dementia, mild, with behavioral disturbances such as sleep disturbance, social disinhibition, or sexual disinhibition
  • Vascular dementia as a result of infarction of the brain due to vascular disease, including hypertensive cerebrovascular disease.Inherited from F01

Excludes 2

Official
  • symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)Inherited from F01-F99

Related Codes

Official
F01.A11Vascular dementia, mild, with agitation

Includes

Official
  • disorders of psychological developmentInherited from F01-F99, F01
  • arteriosclerotic dementiaInherited from F01-F99, F01
  • major neurocognitive disorder due to vascular diseaseInherited from F01-F99, F01
  • multi-infarct dementiaInherited from F01-F99, F01

Excludes 1

Official
  • mild neurocognitive disorder due to known physiological condition with or without behavioral disturbance (F06.7-)Inherited from F01.A

Code First

Official
  • , if applicable, any causal conditionInherited from F01

Use Additional

Official
  • code, if applicable, to identify wandering in vascular dementia (Z91.83)

Code Also

Official

No Code Also instructions are included in this display for F01.A18. Check the code and parent instructions in the Code Book.

Buddy Documentation Tip

HCC Buddy guidance
Diagnosis of vascular dementia with cerebrovascular etiology
Severity explicitly documented as 'mild'
Specific behavioral disturbance described (not agitation — use F01.A11 for agitation)
Cognitive assessment supporting mild stage

MEAT Support

HCC Buddy guidance
Diagnosis of vascular dementia with cerebrovascular etiology
Severity explicitly documented as 'mild'
Specific behavioral disturbance described (not agitation — use F01.A11 for agitation)
Cognitive assessment supporting mild stage

Audit Caution

HCC Buddy guidance
Using this code when the behavioral disturbance is primarily agitation (use F01.A11)
Not specifying the behavioral disturbance type in documentation
Defaulting to unspecified severity when 'mild' is documented
Not recognizing sundowning behavior as a reportable behavioral disturbance

Common Mistakes

HCC Buddy guidance
F01.A11 — Vascular dementia, mild, with agitation: use specifically when agitation is the behavioral issue
F01.A0 — Vascular dementia, mild, without behavioral disturbance: use when no behavioral issues are present
F01.A2 — Vascular dementia, mild, with psychotic disturbance: for hallucinations or delusions
F01.518 — Vascular dementia, unspecified severity, with other behavioral disturbance: less specific for severity

Current with CMS: FY2026 ICD-10-CM Apr 1 update (effective Apr 1 – Sep 30, 2026) · CMS-HCC V28, 100% phased in for payment year 2026. FY2027 code set already staged for October 1, 2026. How HCC Buddy stays current →

Is F01.A18 an HCC code?

Yes. F01.A18 (Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance) maps to HCC 127, Dementia, Mild or Unspecified under the CMS-HCC V28 risk adjustment model, with a source-labeled community non-dual aged reference coefficient of 0.341. Source-labeled code-level coefficients are references, not member totals. Actual contribution depends on complete member context, hierarchy and cleanup rules, interactions, and model year. HCC Buddy's RAF Calculator supports CMS-HCC V28 PY2026 and shows no score unless every required source and calculation check passes. It is billable for payment year 2026.

Coder answer: F01.A18 is billable and maps to V28 HCC 127, Dementia, Mild or Unspecified. Open it in the Code Book for the tabular path, RAF, and MEAT checklist.

Code
F01.A18
Description
Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance
HCC (V28)
HCC 127 — Dementia, Mild or Unspecified
RAF reference coefficient
0.341
Billable
Yes
Payment year
2026

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 127, Dementia, Mild or Unspecified
0.341

These are source-labeled model coefficients, not member totals. A category may still be removed by hierarchy or model cleanup rules. Weights are not directly comparable across models: CMS-HCC V28 and V24 use Community, Non-Dual, Aged; ESRD uses the dialysis continuing-enrollee model; RxHCC is the Part D continuing-enrollee, non-low-income, aged weight (a larger scale than CMS-HCC). ACA/HHS has no single weight — it varies by metal level. Actual per-patient RAF contribution depends on member context, hierarchy and cleanup rules, interactions, and the model year used by the payer. V28 is the CMS-HCC model phased in over payment years 2024–2026; V24 remains available for historical review.

Work F01.A18 in the Code Book — tabular path, V28 RAF reference, and MEAT checklist →

MEAT review for F01.A18

For F01.A18, confirm that the documentation supports the diagnosis and meets the applicable coding, encounter, program and payer requirements. MEAT (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) is a review mnemonic, not a universal CMS coding rule.

  • 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

Coder workflow notes

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What This Code Means

F01.A18 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance. Early-stage dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain with behavioral problems other than agitation. F01.A18 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.A18 maps to Dementia, Mild or Unspecified (HCC 127) with a source-labeled community, non-dual, aged reference coefficient of 0.341. No V24 mapping is shown for F01.A18; use the applicable model and payment year when reviewing the V28 mapping. For CY2026 non-PACE Medicare Advantage, CMS uses 100% of the 2024 CMS-HCC model (V28). PACE uses a separate model blend. Source-labeled code-level coefficients are references, not member totals. Actual contribution depends on complete member context, hierarchy and cleanup rules, interactions, and model year. HCC Buddy's RAF Calculator supports CMS-HCC V28 PY2026 and shows no score unless every required source and calculation check passes.

This code captures behavioral disturbances like wandering, inappropriate behavior, or personality changes in mild vascular dementia. For F01.A18, confirm that the documentation supports the diagnosis and meets the applicable coding, encounter, program and payer requirements. MEAT (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) is a review mnemonic, not a universal CMS coding rule. 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, source-labeled coefficient references, and MEAT documentation criteria for F01.A18 sourced directly from the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model files and the CMS ICD-10-CM code set.

Coding Tips

  • •This code captures behavioral disturbances like wandering, inappropriate behavior, or personality changes in mild vascular dementia
  • •Ensure documentation specifies the type of behavioral disturbance to support medical necessity

Clinical Significance

Mild vascular dementia with other behavioral disturbance captures early-stage vascular cognitive decline with non-agitation behavioral symptoms such as wandering, sundowning, inappropriate social behavior, or sleep-wake cycle disturbances. These symptoms often herald progression and require environmental and behavioral interventions.

Documentation Requirements

  • ✓Diagnosis of vascular dementia with cerebrovascular etiology
  • ✓Severity explicitly documented as 'mild'
  • ✓Specific behavioral disturbance described (not agitation — use F01.A11 for agitation)
  • ✓Cognitive assessment supporting mild stage
  • ✓Impact of behavioral disturbance on daily function and safety
  • ✓Management plan for the specific behavioral issue

Use Additional Code

  • code, if applicable, to identify wandering in vascular dementia (Z91.83)

Commonly Confused Codes

  • •F01.A11: Vascular dementia, mild, with agitation: use specifically when agitation is the behavioral issue
  • •F01.A0: Vascular dementia, mild, without behavioral disturbance: use when no behavioral issues are present
  • •F01.A2: Vascular dementia, mild, with psychotic disturbance: for hallucinations or delusions
  • •F01.518: Vascular dementia, unspecified severity, with other behavioral disturbance: less specific for severity

Child Codes

F01.A11Vascular dementia, mild, with agitation
HCC 127
F01.A18Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance
HCC 127

Code Hierarchy

└F01Vascular dementia└F01.AVascular dementia, mild└F01.A1Vascular dementia, mild, with behavioral disturbance└F01.A18Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance
└F01.A18Vascular dementia, mild, with other behavioral disturbance

F01.A18 code history

Code setChange
FY2023 (effective Oct 1, 2022)Added to the code set

Source: official CMS ICD-10-CM order and addenda files, FY2016 through FY2027.

For F01.A18, confirm that the documentation supports the diagnosis and meets the applicable coding, encounter, program and payer requirements. MEAT (Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, or Treat) is a review mnemonic, not a universal CMS coding rule.

F01.A18 maps to CMS-HCC V28 category 127, Dementia, Mild or Unspecified. See the ICD-10 to HCC mapping hub for how the V28 crosswalk works. The mapping identifies a payment HCC category for F01.A18. Review its source-labeled HCC coefficient above, check the RAF Calculator with complete member context for CMS-HCC V28 PY2026, and confirm the documentation the chart needs before the code is submitted. HCC Buddy shows no RAF score unless every required source and calculation check passes.

More on F01.A18

Related condition guides

Referenced in blog posts

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