CMS Pub. 100-09, ch. 2, § 20.2.5

MACs shall ensure that the written responses to complex beneficiary inquiries are

accurate, complete, responsive, clearly written and presented in a professional manner.

Written responses to complex beneficiary inquiries shall adhere to the basics of the Plain

Writing Act of 2010, to the extent practicable. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires all

federal agencies and, by extension, their contractors to use plain writing in any document

that (1) is necessary to obtain a federal benefit or service, (2) gives information about a

federal benefit or service, and/or (3) explains how to comply with federal requirements.

MACs shall refer to the document entitled, “Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear

and Effective,” for assistance in meeting the requirements of the Plain Writing Act of

2010. The Toolkit is a health literary resource from CMS that consists of 11 parts. It is

available at http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-

Education/Outreach/WrittenMaterialsToolkit/index.html.

In addition, MACs shall use the CMS Writing Guide to assist in the preparation of

written responses to complex beneficiary inquiries. The Writing Guide can be found on

the Quality Written Correspondence Monitoring (QWCM) website at:

https://www.qwcmscores.com/Docs/WritingGuideFINAL.pdf.

Because the Toolkit and the CMS Writing Guide cannot possibly address every issue

encountered in responding to complex written beneficiary inquiries, MACs may also use

other resources (e.g., grammar guides) to supplement their writing process.