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100+ Free CHAA Practice Questions

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A remote registration call includes background noise and the patient misunderstands the arrival time twice. What should the access associate do?

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Sample CHAA Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your CHAA exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A patient asks whether the registration desk can delay insurance questions until after the emergency physician evaluates chest pain. Which principle should guide the access associate's response?
A.Collect payment information first because registration is required before treatment
B.Direct the patient to urgent care if insurance cannot be verified immediately
C.Ensure the patient receives the required emergency medical screening before financial screening delays care
D.Ask security to hold the patient until a guarantor is identified
Explanation: EMTALA requires a Medicare-participating hospital with emergency services to provide an appropriate medical screening examination when emergency care is requested. Registration may occur, but it must not delay screening or stabilizing treatment for an emergency medical condition.
2Which scenario best applies the HIPAA minimum necessary standard in patient access?
A.Sending an entire medical record to a charity program that only needs income and encounter dates
B.Giving a coworker a celebrity patient's room number because the coworker is curious
C.Sharing only the account and insurance fields needed by billing staff to resolve a claim issue
D.Refusing to give a treating physician registration information needed for care
Explanation: The minimum necessary standard means limiting uses, disclosures, and requests for PHI to what is reasonably needed for the purpose. Sharing only the fields needed for billing work fits that standard.
3During arrival, which pair is the best example of acceptable patient identifiers for matching a patient to an order?
A.Room number and diagnosis
B.Full name and date of birth
C.Insurance plan and copay amount
D.Arrival time and service line
Explanation: Patient safety practices require using at least two patient identifiers before providing care, treatment, or services. Full name and date of birth are commonly acceptable identifiers because they identify the person rather than a location or billing attribute.
4A Medicare outpatient is scheduled for a service that Medicare often covers, but the diagnosis on the order is unlikely to meet medical necessity. What notice process helps the patient make an informed financial decision before the service?
A.Issue an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage when appropriate
B.Ask the patient to sign a blank consent for all possible charges
C.Wait for the denial and then collect the full balance
D.Tell the patient Medicare always pays if the physician ordered the service
Explanation: An ABN is used for Original Medicare situations where a normally covered item or service may be denied, such as for medical necessity. It lets the patient choose whether to receive the service and accept possible financial liability before the service is provided.
5Which task best reflects an access associate's role in electronic health systems?
A.Entering patient demographic and insurance data accurately and promptly
B.Changing a physician's clinical note to improve billing
C.Disabling system edits when registration queues are busy
D.Deleting duplicate accounts without following HIM policy
Explanation: Patient access staff support care, billing, and patient safety by entering complete and timely data in registration and related systems. Clinical documentation changes, edit controls, and duplicate record resolution must follow defined role permissions and policies.
6During a planned system downtime, what is the best first priority for patient access staff?
A.Stop all registrations until the system returns
B.Use approved downtime procedures to capture required data for later reconciliation
C.Create new medical record numbers from memory
D.Ask patients to return another day for all services
Explanation: Downtime procedures are designed to keep patient access work moving while preserving identity, clinical, financial, and compliance data for later system entry. Reconciliation after downtime is essential so temporary records do not become permanent errors.
7Which metric most directly helps a supervisor compare registration productivity across shifts?
A.Number of accounts completed per registrar hour
B.Average daily cafeteria sales
C.Number of clinical lab specimens processed
D.Patient room temperature readings
Explanation: Productivity metrics compare work output with available labor or time. Completed registrations per registrar hour is directly tied to patient access workload and staffing performance.
8Which action supports effective resource management in patient access?
A.Scheduling all staff for the same low-volume hour
B.Matching staffing and equipment needs to expected patient volume
C.Ignoring queue data because patient arrivals are unpredictable
D.Holding registration carts for one department even when another has a surge
Explanation: Resource management means aligning people, time, equipment, and funds with service demand. Matching resources to expected volume supports throughput, patient experience, and quality standards.
9A Medicare beneficiary has been in outpatient observation for more than 24 hours. Which notice is specifically associated with explaining that the patient is an outpatient, not an inpatient, and how that status may affect costs?
A.Important Message from Medicare
B.Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice
C.Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage
D.Notice of Privacy Practices
Explanation: The MOON informs Medicare beneficiaries receiving observation services that they are outpatients and explains financial and post-hospital coverage implications. Patient access staff may be involved in ensuring the correct notice workflow is completed.
10A registrar notices that a coworker routinely opens neighbors' accounts without a work reason. What is the most appropriate response?
A.Ignore it unless the coworker prints information
B.Report the potential privacy violation through the organization's compliance process
C.Tell the coworker it is acceptable if nothing is changed
D.Post a warning about the coworker on social media
Explanation: Accessing PHI without a job-related purpose is a privacy and security concern even if no data is printed or changed. The appropriate action is to follow the organization's compliance, privacy, or reporting process.

About the CHAA Exam

The NAHAM CHAA credential validates associate-level patient access knowledge for front-line healthcare access staff. The current content outline covers patient access foundations, customer experience, pre-arrival scheduling and clearance, arrival registration workflows, and revenue cycle concepts including payer coverage, coordination of benefits, collections, and denial prevention.

Assessment

115-question multiple-choice examination

Time Limit

2 hours

Passing Score

Pass/fail cut score adjusted by exam period

Exam Fee

$220 NAHAM members; $250 non-members (National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) / Prometric)

CHAA Exam Content Outline

25%

Patient Access Foundations

Regulatory compliance, information systems, patient identification, resource management, quality metrics, and productivity.

19%

Customer Experience

Patient expectations, literacy needs, quality service, customer satisfaction, communication, and service recovery.

21%

Pre-arrival

Scheduling, pre-registration, insurance verification, financial clearance, estimates, authorizations, and procedure instructions.

19%

Arrival

Registration, admission, patient class validation, required forms, order validation, tracking, wayfinding, and family support.

16%

Revenue Cycle

Billing data, payer analysis, coordination of benefits, point-of-service collection, financial counseling, coding awareness, and denials.

How to Pass the CHAA Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Pass/fail cut score adjusted by exam period
  • Assessment: 115-question multiple-choice examination
  • Time limit: 2 hours
  • Exam fee: $220 NAHAM members; $250 non-members

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

CHAA Study Tips from Top Performers

1Study the December 2023 CHAA content outline and map each workflow scenario to the five official domains.
2Prioritize applied revenue cycle and compliance scenarios, including EMTALA, HIPAA, ABN, MSP, patient identification, and authorization workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the NAHAM CHAA exam?

NAHAM's candidate guide states that the CHAA examination consists of 115 multiple-choice questions.

How long is the CHAA exam?

NAHAM states that candidates are limited to 2 hours for the CHAA examination.