Hurry Up and Wait: Our Broken Medicare Appeal System

Did you know the time for your healthcare provider's Medicare hearing has skyrocketed from the Congressionally mandated three months to over three years? Did you want to know why the good ship OMHA has been swamped?Did you know the crisis affects all of us, and that we must act now before the 2016 budget is passed? Would it surprise you that the bill pending in Congress to address the backlog of over 600,000 cases - the AFIRM (Audit & Appeal Fairness, Integrity and Reforms in Medicare Act) is not a panacea? Do you want straight talk from a former ALJ about what's going on at Medicare (CMS) and in the Office of the Chief Judge?Can you imagine a system that works for us, not for "e;them?"e;