To request that the Medicare Appeals Council (Appeals Council) review the ALJ's decision in your case, follow the directions in the ALJ's hearing decision you got in level 3. You must send your request to the address listed in the ALJ's hearing decision. You can file a request for Appeals Council review in 1 of 2 ways:
- Fill out a "Request for Review of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Medicare Decision/Dismissal" form [PDF, 30.5 KB].
- Submit a written request to the Appeals Council that includes:
- Your name and Medicare number. If you've appointed a representative, include the name of your representative.
- The specific item(s) and/or service(s) and specific date(s) of service you're appealing. See your MSN or your ALJ hearing decision for this information.
- A statement identifying the parts of the ALJ's decision with which you disagree and an explanation of why you disagree.
- The date of the ALJ decision.
- If you're requesting that your case be moved from the ALJ to the Appeals Council because the ALJ hasn't issued a timely decision, send the request to the OMHA address listed on the QIC's reconsideration notice, or if you know that your case was assigned to an OMHA adjudicator, to the hearing office in which the request for hearing is pending.
For more information about the Appeals Council review process, visit the Medicare Operations Division website, or call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
If the Appeals Council doesn't issue a timely decision, you can ask the Appeals Council to move your case to the next level of appeal.
If you disagree with the Appeals Council's decision in level 4, you have 60 days after you get the decision to request judicial review by a federal district court.