Inpatient Facility Coding & Compliance Alert

Question:  I recently heard another provider that there are certain readability standards for ABNs that we have to conform to. What are those standards?

Texas Subscriber

Answer:  As per the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Chapter 30, section 40.3.1.1), Medicare has laid down several guidelines to ensure that your ABN (Advance Beneficiary Notice) document is clear and legible.

Do not use italics, any font that is difficult to read, or reversed print (e.g., white on black). Examples of easily readable fonts include, but are not limited to, Arial, Arial Narrow, Times Roman, and Courier. On the standard forms, do not make an attempt to change the published fonts to any other font.

• Use at least a 12 point font size; 
• Use a visually high-contrast combination of dark ink on a pale background. 
• Do not block-shade (“highlight”) notice text; and 
• Insertions in the forms’ blanks, if any, must be typed, printed, or legibly handwritten.