According to several news outlets, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filed a report with the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia on March 6 stating that, given its current funding and staffing, it is impossible to clear the backlog of outstanding Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearings by the 2021 deadline. ALJ review is the third of four levels in the administrative appeal process set out in the Medicare Act.
In December, the Court adopted a remedy with deadlines and mandatory percentage reductions so that the backlog would be cleared by January 1, 2021. HHS said there are over 667,000 claims outstanding and that number could climb to over one million by the end of 2021. Currently, HHS is able to address about 92,000 claims annually.
