Guidelines to Allow Contractors to Develop and Utilize Procedures for Accepting and Processing Appeals via Facsimile and/or via a Secure Internet Portal/Application

This article is based on Change Request (CR) 6958 which updates the current instructions in the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 29, to allow Medicare contractors to accept claim appeal requests via facsimile and/or via a secure Internet portal/application.

Several Medicare contractors have requested authority from the CMS to utilize a secure Internet portal/application to receive and process Medicare FFS claim appeal requests. In addition, several Medicare contractors have begun to accept claim appeal requests received in writing via facsimile.

 CR 6958 provides guidance regarding appeal requests received in writing via facsimile or via a secure Internet portal/application, and it provides guidance to Medicare contractors who have already modified or currently wish to modify their procedures to allow for receipt and/or processing of redetermination requests via these mechanisms.

CMS does not require its contractors to utilize a facsimile and/or a secure Internet portal/application for performing appeals activities. Contractors may not require an appellant to file an appeal electronically (e.g., via facsimile and/or a secure Internet portal/application). Submission of appeal requests via facsimile or a portal/application is at the discretion of the appellant. Contractors will continue to accept appeal requests in hard copy via mail.