The Coder's Desk · News
PolicyJuly 20, 2026 · 4 min read

AAPC's new CPC-M exam puts reviewing AI coding output on the blueprint

AAPC has published a master-level coding credential aimed at leads and supervisors, and its exam content list includes assessing AI-assisted coding output, EHR documentation integrity, and encoder tools. Here's what the published blueprint actually weights, and how to read it as a study plan.

Tabbed medical code books stacked on a desk beside a pencil, illustrating preparation for the AAPC CPC-M master coding credential exam
A magnifier resting on a printed report beside stacked chart folders, illustrating scrutiny of AI medical coding accuracy
Policy

GAO: AI coding tools may capture more diagnoses, and few studies have checked their accuracy

July 20, 2026 · 5 min read
A desk calendar and pen beside stacked chart folders, marking the CY2027 midyear risk adjustment timing shift for coders
CMS Watch

CMS delays the audio-only and unlinked CRR exclusions to the CY2027 Midyear model run

July 20, 2026 · 5 min read
An optometric trial lens frame beside a stack of unlabeled record folders and a magnifying glass, for the SMRC nursing facility E/M review.
Policy

OIG flagged all 399 sampled optometry E/M lines. The SMRC is now reviewing 99309 and 99310.

July 19, 2026 · 5 min read
Scales of justice beside plain specimen cups on a courthouse bench, the urine drug testing billing at issue in the Labcorp settlement
FCA Settlement

Labcorp will pay $14.5M after admitting it billed 80307 and G0483 on the same urine sample

July 19, 2026 · 4 min read
A thick printed federal rule beside a September desk calendar and a percentage dial, illustrating the CY2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule and its comment window
Policy

CMS's CY2027 PFS would halve the lower-cost same-day E/M or procedure, and turn G2211 into a modifier

July 18, 2026 · 6 min read
A thick unmarked rule document beside a folder of blank draft notes with a red review pen, illustrating CMS's proposed MIPS AI improvement activity and clinician review.
Policy

CMS proposes a MIPS activity for AI governance. Its example: AI-generated notes with clinician review.

July 17, 2026 · 5 min read
A thin chart folder flagged with a red tab beside a magnifier and an empty tray, illustrating how documentation gaps drive Medicare denials and paybacks.
Policy

Insufficient documentation leads Medicare's $28.8B improper-payment bill. It's the coder's fix.

July 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Labeled sorting bins beside a spilling stack of blank index cards, illustrating the gap between an ICD category and a specific billable code
Policy

An AI hit 91% predicting ICD categories. Its scoring counted sepsis for a UTI as correct.

July 10, 2026 · 6 min read
A stack of hospital discharge summaries beside a dark monitor, illustrating AI comorbidity extraction from clinical documentation
Policy

A new study graded an AI comorbidity reader against billing codes. Coders get graded against the note.

July 9, 2026 · 6 min read
Paper claim forms flagged with red tabs beside a rubber stamp and a July desk calendar, illustrating NCCI quarterly claim edit denials
Policy

CMS's July NCCI update adds 2,199 practitioner edit pairs. No modifier will bypass 424 of them.

July 9, 2026 · 7 min read
A desktop microphone beside a thick stack of paper chart folders and an empty steel tray, depicting AI documentation raising coding intensity without matching treatment
Policy

Coding intensity is climbing where AI documentation landed, and payers have started downcoding

July 8, 2026 · 6 min read
Stack of manila claim folders, a rubber stamp and a pen on a wooden desk, depicting WISeR prior authorization review of Medicare services
Policy

Medicare's WISeR AI prior-auth model still binds your claims while Congress moves to repeal it

July 8, 2026 · 6 min read
USB flash drive on manila chart folders beside a sealed letter, the Medicare Advantage diagnosis corrections behind the $342M overpayment
CMS Watch

Elevance pays CMS $342M to avoid a Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment sanction

June 28, 2026 · 4 min read
Scales of justice beside a stack of closed, unlabeled folders, illustrating the Aetna False Claims Act risk-adjustment settlement.
FCA Settlement

Aetna pays $117.7M to settle FCA case over one-way chart reviews and unsupported obesity codes

June 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Doctor's bag, blood pressure cuff, and blank assessment forms on a kitchen table, the in-home visits behind the $56.5M FCA settlement
FCA Settlement

Matrix and HealthFair pay $56.5M over in-home assessment diagnoses the records didn't support

June 6, 2026 · 4 min read
Magnifying glass resting on a stack of medical record documents, depicting the OIG audit of unsupported acute stroke diagnoses
OIG

OIG: $462M in Potential MA Overpayments Tied to Unsupported Acute Stroke Codes

June 5, 2026 · 6 min read
A judge's gavel beside a stack of medical file folders, representing the Kaiser Permanente False Claims Act risk-adjustment settlement
FCA Settlement

Kaiser's $556M FCA Settlement: What the Addenda and Query Allegations Mean for Working Coders

June 5, 2026 · 6 min read
A smartphone face down beside a paper medical chart and stethoscope, depicting audio-only telehealth diagnoses excluded from MA risk scores
CMS Watch

CY2027 Rate Announcement: Audio-Only and Unlinked CRR Diagnoses Out of MA Risk Scores

June 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Stacks of tabbed medical record folders piled on a government office desk, representing CMS RADV audits expanding to 550+ MA plans
CMS Watch

550 Plans, Quarterly RADV Audits, Five Months to Submit: What the Jan 2026 CMS Memo Means at Your Desk

June 5, 2026 · 5 min read

Risk-adjustment enforcement and policy news for working coders. HCC Buddy never stores, logs, or transmits PHI.