How to Fax a Health Insurance Appeal

Updated October 2026

Your health plan denied a claim or a treatment, and you want to fight it. You can fax the appeal for $1.00, but only to the fax number on your denial letter or on your plan's own appeal form.

There is no single appeal fax number for health insurance. Each plan, and often each line of a plan (medical, pharmacy, dental, Medicare, Medicaid), has its own. This guide shows where to find yours, how long you have, and what a typical appeal packet costs to send.

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Where to Fax Your Appeal

Look at the denial letter first. It names the appeal address and, in most cases, an appeal fax number. Many insurers also print the fax number on their member appeal form. Two examples from insurers' own forms:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Member Appeal Form (rev. January 2023): fax 877-522-4767.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Appeals form (rev. 12/24): fax (225) 298-1837, for the member or an authorized representative.

These are examples, not a directory. Your plan may use a different number for medical, pharmacy, dental or Medicare appeals, so use the one on your own letter. If the letter lists only a mailing address, call the member services number on your ID card and ask for the appeal fax number.

A pharmacy plan that refused a drug is a slightly different path. If you have not yet filed the prior authorization, start with our prior authorization guide.

The 180-Day Window and Decision Times

For employer health plans, federal rules (29 CFR 2560.503-1) give you at least 180 days after the denial notice to file an internal appeal. Healthcare.gov gives the same 180 days for marketplace plans. Your letter states your exact deadline.

Once your appeal arrives, the Department of Labor's guide sets how fast the plan must decide: 72 hours for urgent care, 30 days for a service you have not received yet, and 60 days for a service you already received.

Urgent appeals: if waiting could seriously harm your health, ask for an expedited appeal. The rule says these may be made orally or in writing, and information goes back and forth by phone, fax or another fast method. Write "URGENT, EXPEDITED APPEAL" at the top of the cover page and ask your doctor to say why it is urgent.

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If the Plan Says No Again: External Review

After a final internal denial, you can ask for an external review by an independent reviewer. Request it within 4 months of the final denial. A standard decision comes within 45 days; an expedited one within 72 hours or less. In urgent cases you can ask for external review at the same time as the internal appeal.

Your final denial letter says which external review process your plan uses. If it is the federal HHS-administered process, the completed request form can be faxed to 1-888-866-6190 (type 8888666190). If your letter names a state process, use the number and address the letter gives.

Medicare Advantage and Part D Appeals

Medicare plans have their own clock. For a Part D drug denial, ask the plan for a redetermination within 65 calendar days of the coverage determination notice. For a Medicare Advantage (Part C) denial, ask for a reconsideration within 65 calendar days of the plan's decision. CMS does not publish a fax number for either; your plan's denial notice, appeal form or Evidence of Coverage lists it.

If you are still choosing between Medicare and an employer plan, our Medicare Part B guide covers the enrollment forms. For Medicaid paperwork, see our Medicaid renewal guide.

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What to Put on the Cover Page and Each Page

The cover page should say "Member appeal" (or "Urgent, expedited appeal"), the patient's full name, the member ID number, the claim or reference number from the denial letter, your phone number and the page count. Healthcare.gov says to include your name, claim number and ID number, and to keep copies of everything.

Then add your appeal letter or the plan's appeal form, signed; a copy of the denial letter; and your evidence, such as a letter of medical necessity from your doctor and the records it relies on. Put the patient's name and member ID at the top of every page. For tips on scanning and ordering records, see our medical documents guide and medical records guide.

How to Send It for $1.00

1. Scan or photograph the signed appeal and attachments into one PDF, cover page first.
2. Go to FaxForADollar.com and upload the file.
3. Type the 10-digit fax number from your denial letter, area code first. The +1 is already added, so do not type a leading 1.
4. Pay the price shown for your page count. No account needed.

It is usually delivered within a few minutes. Nothing is printed on your document. You get a confirmation email with the destination number, page count and time (Eastern Time), your record of exactly when the appeal was sent. If the fax fails, you are refunded automatically. FaxForADollar is not HIPAA compliant and does not sign a BAA; patients sending their own appeals are not covered entities.

If the plan wants to fax you a decision or a request for more records, our sister service GetAFax.com gives you a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, up to 30 pages, delivered to your email.

Frequently Asked Questions