HHS met its backlog goals for fiscal year 2021, reducing its Medicare appeals backlog by 79 percent at the administrative law judge level, according to a Sept. 28 status report. It's on track to meet the next reduction target as well.
By the end of the third quarter of 2021, a total of 86,063 appeals remain pending at the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals. The starting number of appeals was 426,594.
This is in response to a 2018 federal court ruling, which created annual targets to reduce the backlog of Medicare appeals at the administrative law judge level, according to the AHA.
HHS also reported 8,083 additional appeals to OMHA this quarter, compared to 8,172 last quarter. There were also only 288 recovery audit contractor-related receipts, a reduction of more than 100 receipts from last quarter.