Cognitive Health Assessment

Provider Type

  • Physicians
  • Participating Physician Groups (PPG)

Medi-Cal providers must take required training, self-attest to having completed training and use approved screening tools to receive payment for conducting an annual cognitive health assessment for eligible members age 65 or older and who are not eligible for a similar assessment as part of an annual wellness visit under the Medicare program.

For more information on billing and payments for annual cognitive assessments, see the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) All Plan Letter (APL) 22-025.

Training

You are eligible to receive the payment if you comply with both of the following:1

  • Finish and attest to completing the cognitive health assessment training, as specified and approved by the DHCS. Training is available at the Dementia Care Aware website.
  • Conduct the cognitive health assessment using a tool suggested by the DHCS.

Assessment tools

At least one cognitive assessment tool listed below is required. Cognitive assessment tools used to determine if a full dementia evaluation is needed include, but are not limited to:1

  • Patient assessment tools

-    General Practitioner assessment of Cognition (GPCOG)

-    Mini-Cog

  • Informant tools (family members and close friends)

-    Eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia

-    GPCOG

-    Short Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE)

Based on the scores from these assessments, additional assessment or a specialist referral may be appropriate.

1   Information taken or derived from DHCS APL 22-025, Responsibilities for Annual Cognitive Health Assessment for Eligible Members 65 Years of Age or Older (PDF)