Nonprofit ยท Patient Advocate Foundation
Patient Advocate Foundation appeals guide and sample letters
A free 10-page guide to appealing a health plan denial, with a fill-in-the-blank appeal letter, from a patient-advocacy charity. It is written for most private plans and does not give your own deadlines.
Know before you go
We could not load this page on 12 November 2026 because the site blocked the request, so this entry rests on our research review of 11 November 2026. The guide is general: it speaks of most private plans, gives short notes on Medicare and Medicaid, and says deadlines vary by plan and run from the date on your letter. It will not tell you your own deadline, regulator or review route. The organization's resource library names drug and device makers among its funders.
- Cost
- Free, according to the organization's Frequently Asked Questions page as read in our research review
- Where
- Nationwide
- How to start
- Open the guide page and download the PDF. Read the denial reasons section first, then fill in the sample letter with your own facts and your doctor's help.
- Have ready
- The denial letter; The Explanation of Benefits; A letter or notes from your doctor; Your plan's appeal deadline from your notice
Where this comes from
- Provider
- Patient Advocate Foundation
- Source we read
- https://education.patientadvocate.org/resource/engaging-with-insurers-appealing-a-denial-2/
- Date we read it
- . This is not a fresh check.
- Date the provider printed
- Not displayed
- What we checked
- We could not read all of the provider's current page, so this summary relies partly on earlier research. Check the provider's page before you rely on it.
Other starting points
- Program or service
AppealArmor
A free web tool that reads a photo or text of your denial letter, shows you what it read, and emails an appeal letter and a Next Steps sheet with where to send it and your deadline. It also has a deadline calculator.
From AppealArmor
- Program or service
California Independent Medical Review decision search
A searchable database of every California Independent Medical Review decision since 1 January 2001. Search by drug, treatment, therapy or condition to read how reviewers decided cases like yours.
From California Department of Managed Health Care
- Program or service
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation appeal letter library
Customizable appeal letters for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis treatments, tests and dose changes, including a request to use a biologic without first failing other drugs. Written for the doctor's office to edit.
From Crohn's & Colitis Foundation