Advocates sue over 'broken' appeals system
By HME News Staff
Updated Thu August 28, 2014
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - The Center for Medicare Advocacy has filed a nationwide class action lawsuit over lengthy Medicare appeals. Five named plaintiffs from Connecticut, New York and Ohio have all waited longer than the statutory 90-day limit to receive decisions on their Medicare appeals, according to a news release that says the current average wait time is more than five times the Congressionally-mandated limit. The group says the ALJ, the third level of appeal, is the first chance for a meaningful review of an appeal. “This lawsuit is necessary because of a broken Medicare appeals system,” said Gill Deford, director of litigation. “We're suing to fix it for the plaintiffs and the thousands of beneficiaries in similar circumstances who are struggling to pay health care bills, or going without needed care while stuck in bureaucratic limbo.”
Comments