The Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) has had a backlog of more than 357,000 claims. Medicare beneficiaries who have been waiting for a long time for a hearing on their appeals are being given top priority by the OMHA in an effort to reduce the massive backlog. New requests for hearings filed by hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and other health care providers, which make up nearly 90 percent of the cases are being suspended until the beneficiary initiated appeals are handled. The OMHA expects the suspension would last about two years. The GIRS Medical Technology Hotline Service, The GIRS InContact Reimbursement Line™ provides expert claims submission assistance to avoid denials of payment. We also provide appeals assistance to our clients to support their accounts to successfully appeal denials with a wide range of payers. Please contact us at info@girsinc.com if you need help with appealing denied claims with expert support from certified coders, insurance experts, and payer decision makers on our Payer Panel.