HHS ordered to clear Medicare appeals backlog by 2021

‘The federal government has until the end of 2020 to wipe out the backlogged of Medicare claims appeals from hospitals, a federal judge ruled this week. By Jan. 1, 2021, HHS must fully clear all pending appeals by hospitals challenging the findings of Medicare’s recovery audit contractors. In addition, HHS must file progress reports every 90 days. HHS must make gradual progress in clearing the administrative complaints over the next four years. By the end of 2017, the logjam of pending cases, which stood at 800,000 in February, must be reduced by 30%. That figure increases to 60% by the end of 2018 and 90% by the end of 2019. The judge viewed the plan, proposed by hospitals that sued HHS, as a happy medium between wide-scale settlements and the stagnant status quo.