CCMA administrative, communication, law and ethics practice test

Four NHA test plan domains sit outside clinical care: Patient Care Coordination and Education (12 items), Administrative Assisting (12), Communication and Customer Service (12) and Medical Law and Ethics (7), together 43 of the 150 scored questions. The two free drills below cover them in 12 original questions each.

43
scored items across 4 domains: 29%
of the scored exam: 43
questions in our mock: 2 × 12
free drill questions

Last checked 22 October 2026 · From the NHA test plan; HIPAA rules from HHS

Free drills: 12 original CCMA-style questions each, at the real exam's pace, then every answer explained. No sign-up.

12
questions
12 min
time limit
Free
every answer explained

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 22 October 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

What administrative topics are on the CCMA exam?

Scheduling and patient flow, referrals and prior authorizations, health records, insurance and billing basics, coding systems, office supplies and equipment, patient education and care coordination, plus communication, privacy, consent, scope of practice and ethics.

The four domains and what they ask
Domain	What the questions ask
Care Coordination and Education	Referrals, follow-up and recalls, community resources, preventive care reminders, teaching patients and caregivers
Administrative Assisting	Scheduling methods, the health record, insurance terms, coding sets, billing, supplies and equipment logs
Communication and Customer Service	Therapeutic communication, active listening, interpreters, difficult conversations, phone etiquette, professionalism
Medical Law and Ethics	HIPAA, consent, scope of practice, documentation, mandatory reporting, negligence and respondeat superior

What insurance and coding terms are on the CCMA exam?

Deductible, copay and coinsurance, prior authorization and referral, the code sets (ICD-10-CM for diagnoses, CPT for services, HCPCS Level II for supplies), clean claims and denials, and Medicare and Medicaid basics.

Insurance terms
Term	Meaning
Deductible	What the patient pays each year before the plan starts sharing costs
Coinsurance	The percent of the bill the patient pays after the deductible, such as 20%
Copay	A flat amount per visit or service, such as $25
Prior authorization	The plan's approval before a service or drug is covered
Referral	A primary care provider's order sending the patient to a specialist
Clean claim	A claim with no errors or missing information, paid on first submission

CCMA-style question 1 · Patient billing
A visit costs $500. The patient has $200 of the annual deductible left to pay, and the plan then covers 80% (20% coinsurance). What does the patient owe for this visit?
1. A$100
2. B$240
3. C$260
4. D$300
Worked answer
C: $260. The patient first pays the $200 left on the deductible. The remaining $300 is shared: the patient pays 20%, which is $60. $200 + $60 = $260.
1. Deductible first: $200.
2. Left over: $500 − $200 = $300; patient share 20% = $60.
3. Total: $200 + $60 = $260.
The trap: Taking 20% of the whole $500 ($100). The deductible comes off before coinsurance starts.
CCMA-style question 2 · Coding
Which code set describes the procedure or service a provider performed in an office visit?
1. AICD-10-CM
2. BCPT
3. CNDC
4. DICD-10-PCS
Show the worked answer
B: CPT. CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes describe procedures and services in outpatient settings. ICD-10-CM codes the diagnosis, ICD-10-PCS codes inpatient hospital procedures, and NDC identifies drug products.
1. What was done (a service) or why (a diagnosis)? What was done.
2. Outpatient services use CPT.
3. ICD-10-CM answers "why".
The trap: Choosing ICD-10-PCS because it says "procedure". It is for inpatient hospital procedures only.

Four drills for each area

Eight full 150-question mocks and 28 drills, with patient bills generated fresh every time.

The CCMA Pass Pack gives you 8 full mocks on the real clock, 28 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The CCMA Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the CCMA Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

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timed mocks: 28
topic drills: 1
score predictor

What scheduling methods are on the CCMA exam?

Stream (time-specified) scheduling at set intervals, wave scheduling with several patients at the top of the hour, modified wave, clustering similar visits together, double booking, and open hours.

Records questions ask how a chart is organized (source-oriented by type of document, problem-oriented by problem, SOAP notes), how to correct an error (a single line through it or the record's amendment function, so the original stays readable, with the date and your initials), and how long and where records are kept.

Care coordination questions turn on follow-through: tracking a referral until the report comes back, sending recall reminders without revealing private details in a voicemail, and teaching a patient in plain language with a teach-back check.

What law and ethics are on the CCMA exam?

HIPAA privacy and the minimum necessary standard, informed and implied consent, the patient's right to refuse, a medical assistant's scope of practice, documentation, mandatory reporting, and the legal ideas of negligence and respondeat superior.

HIPAA: share PHI only with people entitled to it, and for purposes such as payment only the minimum necessary. Sharing with other providers for treatment is allowed; an employer, neighbor or relative without authorization gets nothing, not even whether the person is a patient.
Consent: informed consent for procedures is the provider's to obtain; the medical assistant may witness the signature. A competent adult may refuse any treatment, and the refusal is documented and reported to the provider.
Scope: medical assistants do not diagnose, interpret results, prescribe or give medical advice. State rules set what they may delegate and perform.
Documentation: if it was not documented, it was not done. Chart right after a task, objectively, in the patient's own words for symptoms.
Respondeat superior: the employer and supervising provider can be held responsible for a medical assistant's acts within the job.
Mandatory reporting: suspected child or elder abuse and certain diseases are reported according to state law and office policy.

CCMA-style question 1 · HIPAA
A patient's employer calls asking whether the patient really had an appointment yesterday. There is no authorization on file. What should the medical assistant do?
1. AConfirm the appointment but nothing else
2. BDecline to confirm or deny, and explain that written authorization is needed
3. CRead the visit note to prove the patient was seen
4. DAsk the employer for the patient's date of birth, then confirm
Worked answer
B: Decline to confirm or deny, and explain that written authorization is needed. Whether someone is a patient is itself protected health information. Without the patient's written authorization, the medical assistant may not confirm the visit to an employer, even partly. The patient can bring a work note instead.
1. Is the caller entitled to PHI? An employer is not, without authorization.
2. Is "yes, they came in" PHI? Yes.
3. So decline politely and explain the authorization rule.
The trap: Confirming "only the appointment". Confirming the visit discloses PHI.

What communication skills are on the CCMA exam?

Therapeutic communication: open-ended questions, active listening, restating, silence used well, plain language, facing a patient with hearing loss, speaking to the patient (not the companion), and using a qualified interpreter rather than a family member.

Communication questions usually have one option that is warm but unhelpful (false reassurance), one that is efficient but dismissive, one that oversteps the medical assistant's role, and one that invites the patient to talk while staying within scope. Choose the last.

Practise both domains in the free drills above, then take the full CCMA practice test. A plan that spaces these areas through the week is in how to pass the CCMA, and more worked questions are on CCMA sample questions.

CCMA-style question 1 · Therapeutic communication
A patient says, "I have been feeling off lately." Which response best encourages the patient to say more?
1. A"Are you sleeping well?"
2. B"Can you tell me more about how you have been feeling?"
3. C"Everyone feels that way sometimes."
4. D"You should mention that to the doctor."
Worked answer
B: "Can you tell me more about how you have been feeling?". An open-ended question invites the patient to describe the problem in their own words. A yes-or-no question closes the topic, reassurance dismisses it, and sending it straight to the doctor skips the history the medical assistant is there to take.
1. Goal: get the patient talking.
2. Open-ended questions cannot be answered with yes or no.
3. Only one option is open-ended.
The trap: Choosing the sleep question because it sounds clinical. It narrows the answer before you know the problem.

Frequently asked questions

Which code set is for diagnoses?

ICD-10-CM. CPT codes procedures and services; HCPCS Level II covers supplies and some services.

Can a medical assistant tell a patient their lab results?

A medical assistant may pass on results the provider has reviewed and approved to share, following office policy, but may not interpret them.

What is the minimum necessary rule?

HIPAA's standard that a use or disclosure of PHI, for example to an insurer for payment, is limited to what the purpose needs. It does not apply to sharing between providers for treatment.

Should a family member interpret for a patient?

A qualified medical interpreter is the safe choice. Family members, especially children, may not translate accurately and the patient may not speak freely.

Are these real CCMA questions?

No. They are original CCMA-style questions. LifeScore is not affiliated with NHA.

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