The HHS Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) has announced that it is expanding its Settlement Conference Facilitation pilot's eligibility criteria to include more pending appeals. As previously reported, this pilot program is designed to bring the appellant and CMS together to discuss the potential of a mutually-agreeable resolution to claims appealed to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing. The pilot expansion will occur in two phases. Phase II, which opened October 1, 2015, will expand the settlement conference facilitation eligibility requirements for Part B appeals. Phase III, which is expected to open in 2016, will expand the pilot to include certain Part A appeals. OMHA will conduct an Open Door Teleconference on October 15, 2015, to answer questions from the appellant community related to the pilot; the teleconference registration deadline is 5:00 pm on October 14.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
