The Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) has issued a Memorandum to OMHA Medicare appellants announcing a temporary stay, effective for cases filed on or after July 15, 2013, in the assignment of new requests for Administrative Law Judge hearings.  Citing a 184 percent increase in Medicare claims and entitlement appeals from 2010 to 2013 and resulting backlog of over 460,000 claims, OMHA stated that it does not expect general ALJ assignments to resume for a period of at least 24 months. Notably, information on OMHA’s Website references possible assignment delays of up to 28 months for appeals filed after April 1, 2013.  In its Memorandum, OMHA also announced that it will hold an Medicare Appellant Forum on February 12, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and it subsequently published a Notice of Meeting in the January 3, 2014 Federal Register. Additional clarity on the length of the temporary stay as well as the effective date may be made at the Forum.  For more information on how to register for the Forum, and to obtain a copy of the proposed agenda, and other attendee information, please visit the OMHA Medicare Appellant Forum Website.   

Please click here for a copy of OMHA’s Memorandum to OMHA Medicare Appellants.  To access the Notice of Meeting published in the January 3, 2014 Federal Register, click here.

Reporter, Tracy Weir, Washington, D.C., +1 202 626 2923, tweir@kslaw.com