Our clients ask:
“Do I have to appeal IRMAA within 10 days?”
“What happens if I don’t respond within 10 days?”
Our answer:
In the IRMAA notification letter, the requirement to respond within 10 days specifically applies , “This notice does not contain appeal rights but will invite beneficiaries to contact SSA within 10 days if the beneficiary believes the information is incorrect before SSA applies IRMAA (e.g., SSA used PY-3 data and the beneficiary has a copy of the Federal income tax return filed for PY-2).”
This 10 days is specific for people who believe their initial IRMAA amounts are factually incorrect. You have 10 days to contact Social Security to correct the initial IRMAA amounts.
To appeal IRMAA through the SSA-44 Life-changing Event Notification Form, you do not have time limit.
Instead, the importance of submitting the SSA-44 as soon as possible is that you will pay IRMAA amounts each month. Any IRMAA amounts that you pay in excess of what you should actually be paying can be difficult, if not impossible, to get refunded.
Check the step-by-step instructions in your Medicare RoadMap report for how to file the SSA-44 form. Or, contact us for additional assistance.
Read more:
- HI 01101.035 Initial IRMAA Determination Notices — https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0601101035
- "2506. What is the New Initial Determination Process?" (For IRMAA) — https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.25/handbook-2506.html