Guides02 of 04Updated October 19, 2026
The appeal deadline: 65 days, and how to count them.
The rule gives you 60 days from the day you receive the plan’s written notice, and it presumes you received it five days after the date printed on it. Put together, that’s the number Medicare gives: 65 days from the date on the notice.
- The rule
- 60 daysafter you receive the plan’s written notice
- Presumed receipt
- +5 daysafter the date printed on the notice
- In practice
- 65 daysfrom the date on the notice
01Where to start counting
Start from the date printed on the notice, not the day you opened it. Count calendar days, weekends included. A notice dated March 2 gives you until May 6.
The five days are a presumption. If the notice reached your parent later than that, the rule counts from when it actually arrived, but you need something that shows when. Keep anything that does.
02It counts when the plan receives it
The appeal is filed on the day the plan, or the office named in its notice, receives it. Mailing it on the last day is too late. Use the way the notice offers that arrives fastest, and keep proof.
03If you’ve missed it
You can still ask. Put the appeal and the request for more time in writing, and say why it wasn’t filed on time. If there’s good cause, the plan may extend the deadline. It isn’t required to.
04Other clocks
- Care ending at a skilled nursing facility, from a home health agency or at an outpatient rehab facility has its own deadline: noon the day before the end date on the notice. The fast appeal.
- After the independent reviewer decides, you have 60 days to ask for the next level, a hearing with an administrative law judge. The independent review.
05Sources
Checked against these on October 19, 2026. This guide explains the published rules; it isn’t legal advice. Where your notice says something different, follow the notice.
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