What is ICD-10 code F01.A3?

F01.A3 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for Vascular dementia, mild, with mood disturbance. It belongs to the ICD-10-CM chapter for mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders (f01-f99). F01.A3 is a billable code, meaning it can be reported on a claim as a primary or secondary diagnosis when supported by documentation. F01.A3 is part of the FY2026 ICD-10-CM code set published by the CMS National Center for Health Statistics and used on Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial claims in the United States.

Yes. F01.A3 is a billable ICD-10-CM code that can be reported on professional and institutional claims as a primary or secondary diagnosis when the provider documentation supports the specific condition described. Billable codes in ICD-10-CM are coded to the highest level of specificity available for the documented diagnosis. F01.A3 is current for fiscal year 2026 and remains in the active CMS ICD-10-CM code set published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Which HCC does F01.A3 map to under V28?

F01.A3 maps to CMS-HCC V28 HCC 127 (Dementia, Mild or Unspecified). The category numbers, labels, and conditions come from the CMS-HCC V28 model file for payment year 2026.

2026 ICD-10-CM F01.A3: Vascular dementia, mild

F01.A3 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.A3

Effective periodFY2026 Apr Update (Apr 1-Sep 30)

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

F01.A3

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

Vascular dementia, mild, with mood disturbance

This code describes a type of dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain that is in its early stages and accompanied by mood changes such as depression or anxiety. The patient has mild cognitive decline but can still perform most daily activities with some difficulty.

Buddy Insight

Mild vascular dementia with mood disturbance captures early-stage vascular cognitive decline accompanied by depression, apathy, or emotional dysregulation.

Overview Risk Models Code Book Documentation Audit Notes Edition comparison

CMS-HCC V28

Mapped

HCC 127

Dementia, Mild or Unspecified

Code-level coefficient reference

CMS-HCC V24

Historical

Not used for standard CY2026 Medicare Advantage payment. Select a historical period to review V24.

Not used for CY2026 payment

ACA/HHS

N/A

—

Not risk-adjusted for this model/period.

Not mapped

ESRD/PACE

N/A

—

Not risk-adjusted for this model/period.

Not mapped

RXHCC

N/A

—

Not risk-adjusted for this model/period.

Not mapped

Code Book Path

Official

F01Vascular dementia F01.AVascular dementia, mild F01.A3Vascular dementia, mild, with mood disturbance

Inclusion Terms

Official

Major neurocognitive disorder due to vascular disease, mild, with mood disturbance such as depression, apathy, or anhedonia
Vascular dementia, mild, with mood disturbance such as depression, apathy, or anhedonia
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.A0Vascular dementia, mild, without behavioral disturbance, psychotic disturbance, mood disturbance, and anxiety F01.A1Vascular dementia, mild, with behavioral disturbance F01.A2Vascular dementia, mild, with psychotic disturbance F01.A4Vascular dementia, mild, with anxiety

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

No Use Additional Code instructions are included in this display for F01.A3. Check the code and parent instructions in the Code Book.

Code Also

Official

No Code Also instructions are included in this display for F01.A3. 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 mood disturbance documented (depression, apathy, emotional lability)

Cognitive assessment supporting mild stage

MEAT Support

HCC Buddy guidance

Diagnosis of vascular dementia with cerebrovascular etiology

Severity explicitly documented as 'mild'

Specific mood disturbance documented (depression, apathy, emotional lability)

Cognitive assessment supporting mild stage

Audit Caution

HCC Buddy guidance

Coding depression as a standalone diagnosis instead of using the combined code

Not recognizing apathy as a mood disturbance in vascular dementia

Defaulting to unspecified severity when mild is documented

Failing to distinguish mood disturbance from anxiety — they have separate codes

Common Mistakes

HCC Buddy guidance

F01.A0 — Vascular dementia, mild, without behavioral disturbance: use when no mood disturbance present

F01.53 — Vascular dementia, unspecified severity, with mood disturbance: when severity not specified

F01.A4 — Vascular dementia, mild, with anxiety: for anxiety rather than mood disturbance

F32.9 — Major depressive disorder, single episode, unspecified: standalone depression, not dementia-related

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.A3 an HCC code?

Yes. F01.A3 (Vascular dementia, mild, with mood 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.A3 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.A3
Description: Vascular dementia, mild, with mood 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.A3 in the Code Book — tabular path, V28 RAF reference, and MEAT checklist →

MEAT review for F01.A3

For F01.A3, 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.A3 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for vascular dementia, mild, with mood disturbance. This code describes a type of dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain that is in its early stages and accompanied by mood changes such as depression or anxiety. The patient has mild cognitive decline but can still perform most daily activities with some difficulty. F01.A3 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.A3 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.A3; 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.

Ensure documentation specifies both the vascular cause of dementia and the presence of mood disturbance to justify this combination code. For F01.A3, 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.A3 sourced directly from the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model files and the CMS ICD-10-CM code set.

Coding Tips

•Ensure documentation specifies both the vascular cause of dementia and the presence of mood disturbance to justify this combination code
•Do not use this code if the mood disturbance is severe enough to warrant a separate mood disorder diagnosis; verify the severity level matches 'mild' dementia classification

Clinical Significance

Mild vascular dementia with mood disturbance captures early-stage vascular cognitive decline accompanied by depression, apathy, or emotional dysregulation. Vascular depression is a recognized entity that may precede or accompany vascular dementia, and treating the mood disturbance can improve cognitive function and quality of life.

Documentation Requirements

✓Diagnosis of vascular dementia with cerebrovascular etiology
✓Severity explicitly documented as 'mild'
✓Specific mood disturbance documented (depression, apathy, emotional lability)
✓Cognitive assessment supporting mild stage
✓Mood assessment (PHQ-9, GDS, or clinical documentation)
✓Treatment plan for mood disturbance (antidepressant, psychosocial support)

Commonly Confused Codes

•F01.A0: Vascular dementia, mild, without behavioral disturbance: use when no mood disturbance present
•F01.53: Vascular dementia, unspecified severity, with mood disturbance: when severity not specified
•F01.A4: Vascular dementia, mild, with anxiety: for anxiety rather than mood disturbance
•F32.9: Major depressive disorder, single episode, unspecified: standalone depression, not dementia-related