Audit receipt: your benefits summary (very simple words)
Source: CMS sample Explanation of Benefits (EOB), Publication #11819, May 2022 · register: muy sencillo / very simple · language: EN
The register you chose: very simple (muy sencillo)
This is the plainest version. It uses only everyday words. Sentences are 12 words or fewer. Every money step is shown with real numbers, worked out for you. Harder detail is not removed; it moves into sections you can open ("More detail"). A middle-level "sencillo" version of this same document also exists, alongside this one.
SIMPLE score
Scored 0-4 per dimension by the adversarial auditor. Passing floor: 3 on every dimension.
Original vs simplified (4-axis)
Before = the locked baseline of the original CMS specimen. After = the auditor's re-measurement of this very-simple rewrite.
Readability, three ways
Three columns: original CMS prose → sencillo version → this very-simple version. Flesch-Kincaid grade and Flesch Reading Ease, measured on the reader-facing prose. Very-simple target: grade 4 or below, ease 80 or above, sentences 12 words or fewer. Every visible sentence here is 12 words or fewer (longest = 12).
Reader panel result (comprehension gate)
Three synthetic readers saw only the finished page. The register-matching profile for "very simple" is L1 (basic reader).
- L1 (basic reader) — PASS. Answered all four (what it is, what to do, by when, the money) correctly. Zero non-understood words in visible text after one fix.
- L2 (middle reader) — PASS. All four correct. Traced the $85.27 = $2.15 + $83.12 split end to end.
- L3 (nuance check) — PASS. All nine exceptions and conditions still reachable (A–I): not-a-bill, no payee/no due date, the already-paid caveat, the refund and who receives it, the billed-vs-allowed rule and the PDC code, the $0.00 deductible and coinsurance, the copay math, the right to ask for a review, and the sample-data provenance.
One fix round: L1 and L2 both flagged that the visible "$85.27" (both visits) sat next to "$83.12" (visit 2) with no bridge. A worked example was added in both the visible text and the expander ($2.15 + $83.12 = $85.27), and the "you may owe less" line was anchored with "the $35.00 stands, with one special case." Both readers re-checked the changed lines and passed.
What was done (very simple)
- Replaced the money words in the visible text with everyday phrases: "your part" for what you owe, "agreed price" for the allowed charge, "the doctor" for the provider, "a set part you pay" for the copay.
- Kept the technical words (copay, payee, PDC, deductible, coinsurance, appeal) only where you must match them on your real form, each taught in one plain sentence in a tap-to-open definition.
- Split every sentence to 12 words or fewer; kept paragraphs to two sentences.
- Gave every money step a worked example with real numbers: $406.60 asked → $120.27 agreed → $35.00 your part; $118.12 − $35.00 = $83.12; $2.15 + $83.12 = $85.27.
- Moved the line-by-line table, the plain-word list, the $0.00 words, and the review steps into "More detail" sections, so the visible page holds only what you must know and do.
- Named what the sample does not carry (no payee, no due date) instead of inventing either.
Hard words that remain
These technical words could not be removed, because you may need to match them on your real form. Each is taught in one plain sentence at the point it appears, and each sits next to its everyday meaning:
- Copay, deductible, coinsurance, payee — the column and box names on your form. Kept only inside definitions and the "words on your form" list, never bare in the main text.
- PDC — a reference code printed on your form. It stays so you can find it, with a plain purpose beside it ("a short note code... the doctor asked for more than the plan allows").
- Appeal — kept once, inside the "if you think a cost is wrong" section, because it is the word to say when you call.
- EOB, Publication #11819, go.cms.gov/c2c — reference labels for the source. Kept so you can point at the original; not simplified further.
Residual note: "$83.12" appears only inside the "See each visit" section. A reader who never opens it sees only "$85.27" in the visible text, with no competing number, which is correct by design.