Federal agency ยท U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Employee Benefits Security Administration help line and Ask EBSA
Free phone and online help from federal benefits advisors for people in employer health plans. They explain your rights and possible next steps, and may help you recover benefits you are owed.
Know before you go
The service is for workers, retirees and families in employer plans, including employer plans that fund their own claims, which state insurance departments usually cannot help with. The page promises a return call or email and information on possible next steps; it does not promise to overturn a denial or act as your lawyer. Contacting the agency does not stop your appeal deadline, so file your appeal on time.
- Cost
- Not stated. The page lists no fee for calling or messaging.
- Where
- Nationwide
- How to start
- Call the number, or use the message option on the Ask EBSA page, and say you have a denied health claim in an employer plan. Ask what the agency can do and what your plan must send you.
- Phone
- 1-866-444-3272, as printed on the provider's page
- Have ready
- Your denial notice; Your plan name and the employer's name; The dates of your claim and any appeal; Your summary plan description, if you have it
Where this comes from
- Provider
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
- Source we read
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/ask-a-question/ask-ebsa
- Date we read it
- . This is not a fresh check.
- Date the provider printed
- Not displayed
- What we checked
- We read the provider's public page. We have not verified availability, eligibility or outcomes for any individual.
Other starting points
- Program or service
Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organizations: find yours
The Medicare contractors that handle fast appeals when hospital or other care is ending too soon, and complaints about the quality of care. Each state is assigned to one of two organizations.
From Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Program or service
California Department of Managed Health Care: Independent Medical Review
California's regulator for managed care plans reviews denials of medical services, emergency payment and experimental treatment through Independent Medical Review. One form starts either a review or a consumer complaint.
From California Department of Managed Health Care
- Program or service
Center for Medicare Advocacy self-help materials
Downloadable self-help toolkits for Medicare denials involving home health care, outpatient therapy and skilled nursing facility care, from a nonprofit law organization. The page describes materials, not a helpline.
From Center for Medicare Advocacy