Wellness Med Care

Appeal deadline calculator

Federal rules give you at least 180 days from the date of a denial notice to file an internal appeal. Miss it and your strongest argument may never be heard.

Use the date printed on the letter, not the date you opened it.

What to do with the time

  1. Call and ask what specifically caused the denial. A large share turn out to be clerical or coding problems that the provider's billing office can fix without any appeal at all.
  2. Ask the plan in writing for the criteria they used, including any internal rule or clinical guideline. You are entitled to a free copy, and it turns the appeal from an argument into a checklist.
  3. Get a letter from your clinician tied to those criteria, not a general statement that the care was needed.
  4. File something before the deadline even if documents are still missing. You can supplement afterward. You cannot un-miss a deadline.

The full process, including what actually persuades a reviewer, is in our guide on what to do when your claim is denied, and there is a fill-in appeal letter ready to send.

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