ALJ Delay Status Report and Dashboard Re: AHA, Hospitals Sue to Require HHS to Meet Deadlines for Deciding Appeals

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, et al., 

                                    Plaintiffs

                              v.                                                     Civil Action No. 14-cv-00851 (JEB)

XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as 
Secretary of Health and Human Services,¹ 

                                 Defendant.

DEFENDANT’S STATUS REPORT

Pursuant to the Court’s 2018 Order (ECF No. 89), the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) provides this status report to inform the Court that HHS met the reduction target for the first quarter of FY 2021 and is on track to meet the subsequent reduction targets set forth in the Court’s November 1, 2018 Order. Attached to this status report as Exhibit 1 are statistics concerning, inter alia, the backlog of appeals at the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (“OMHA”) as of the end of the first quarter of FY 2021. See Medicare Appeals Dashboard, Exhibit 1. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, a total of 131,961 appeals remained pending at OMHA, which is a reduction of over 69% from the starting number of appeals identified in the Court’s order (426,594 appeals).

Dated: March 26, 2021                                               Respectfully submitted,
                                                                                    BRIAN BOYNTON
                                                                                    Acting Assistant Attorney General

________________

¹ Xavier Becerra has been substituted as Defendant, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, by operation of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d).