The Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) has released a new tool to check the status of appeals. The OMHA is the third level of Medicare appeals (Administrative Law Judge). This agency made headlines after announcing a temporary suspension of new ALJ hearing request assignments in July 2013. The announcement came after the agency received a staggering increase in ALJ requests which overwhelmed the agency’s capacity and created a massive backlog. Since the announcement, the OMHA has deployed a number of efforts to tackle the backlog including launching new technological initiatives such as the ALJ Appeal Status Information System (AASIS) search tool.
AASIS allows suppliers that have submitted a request for hearing to enter either the ALJ Appeal Number from the Acknowledgement Letter/ Notice of Hearing OR the Medicare Appeal Number (Reconsideration) from the decision letter to search for the status of that request. Suppliers can enter up to 10 Appeal Numbers at once. The status indicators are: Received, Assigned, Deliberation, and Decided.
AASIS allows suppliers that have submitted a request for hearing to enter either the ALJ Appeal Number from the Acknowledgement Letter/ Notice of Hearing OR the Medicare Appeal Number (Reconsideration) from the decision letter to search for the status of that request. Suppliers can enter up to 10 Appeal Numbers at once. The status indicators are: Received, Assigned, Deliberation, and Decided.
Additionally, there are two other indicators when an appeal has been combined with another request or when it has been reopened. The search results will include the status of the appeal, the date it was received, and additional information if the appeal has been assigned (such as hearing date, hearing office and the name of the presiding judge). The results also include a section of notes describing the status of the appeal.
While this can be a very helpful tool for suppliers it is important to note that the backlog still exists. Because of the volume of requests being submitted, suppliers should not expect to see a status for 16 weeks after the request has been mailed. AASIS is updated weekly and the inquiry page will report the date of the last update. If your appeal has been decided on or otherwise closed more than 180 days, a status will not be available in the AASIS system. If you find that the number you enter is not returning results but meets the criteria outlined above, then you can contact the OMHA Appeal Status Hotline at 855-556-8475 and a representative can provide you with the status.
To utilize this tool, click on this link: http://aasis.omha.hhs.gov/.
While this can be a very helpful tool for suppliers it is important to note that the backlog still exists. Because of the volume of requests being submitted, suppliers should not expect to see a status for 16 weeks after the request has been mailed. AASIS is updated weekly and the inquiry page will report the date of the last update. If your appeal has been decided on or otherwise closed more than 180 days, a status will not be available in the AASIS system. If you find that the number you enter is not returning results but meets the criteria outlined above, then you can contact the OMHA Appeal Status Hotline at 855-556-8475 and a representative can provide you with the status.
To utilize this tool, click on this link: http://aasis.omha.hhs.gov/.
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