A recent report by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) concluded that in Fiscal Year 2010, 61% of Medicare providers that appealed CMS payment decisions were fully successful in their respective appeal.  In other words, these providers persuaded the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) handling the appeal to completely overturn previous adverse payment decisions made by CMS and its contractors.  Notably, of the 61% of providers that were successful, those appealing Part A and B claims had the most success, 67% and 59% respectively.

The Medicare overpayment appeal process consists of four levels.  At the first level of appeal, which is available after an initial overpayment determination, the individual or entity (appellant) appeals the overpayment decision to CMS’s Medicare Administrative Contractor.  If the appellant is unsuccessful, the next appeal is administered by CMS’s Qualified Independent Contractor (QIC).  The third level of appeal is administered by the ALJ, and the fourth level is administered by the Medicare Appeals Council.  OIG’s report contrasted the high success rate at the ALJ level to the low 20% success rate at the QIC level.  While there are many reasons for the difference, OIG’s report found that the main reason is that ALJs tend to view Medicare’s reimbursement and coverage policies less strictly than CMS’s contractors.  OIG also found that CMS participated in only 10% of all ALJ appeals, which resulted in the ALJ overturning CMS’s decision in 60% of these cases.