Despite interventions by Medicare officials, the number of appeals from health care providers and patients challenging denied claims continues to spiral, increasing the backlog of cases and delaying many decisions well beyond the timeframes set by law, according to a government study released Thursday.

The report from the Government Accountability Office, said the backlog “shows no signs of abating.” It called for the Department of Health and Human Services to improve its oversight of the process and to streamline appeals so that prior decisions are taken into account and repetitive claims are handled more efficiently.

Growing Wait Time

The average wait for a Medicare appeal decision by an administrative law judge has spiraled over the past eight years

Average Processing Time By Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year	Number of Days
FY09	94.9
FY10	109.6
FY11	121.3
FY12	134.5
FY13	220.7
FY14	414.8
FY15	661.1
FY16 Average	819.4
1st Qtr	795.8
2nd Qtr	860.6