This is general information, not a coverage decision and not medical advice. Rules change, and a Medicare Advantage plan can differ from Original Medicare. Confirm a specific stay with Medicare, the plan, the hospital discharge planner, or your county Aging and Disability Resource Connection.
If the discharge date feels too soon, Medicare has a fast appeal for hospital inpatients. It is not a complaint line for this directory, and it is not medical advice. The steps below are the ones Medicare and the New Jersey QIO publish.
An Important Message from Medicare
Medicare says a hospital inpatient should get “An Important Message from Medicare about Your Rights” within 2 days of admission and a follow-up copy before discharge. If you think you are being asked to leave too soon, follow that notice no later than the day you are scheduled to leave. That asks a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization to review the discharge.
Who answers in New Jersey
The BFCC-QIO for New Jersey is Commence Health, formerly Livanta. Its appeal page is the place to start an online fast appeal. The New Jersey flyer and the CMS contacts directory both list the toll-free line 1-866-815-5440, and TTY 711. Have the Medicare number, the dates of service, and the hospital’s name ready. Do not send medical details to this website.
A different notice after you leave the hospital
If you are already in a skilled nursing facility, inpatient rehab, home health, or hospice and covered services are ending, the notice is the Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage, not the hospital message. Medicare.gov explains that fast appeal separately. Ask for the notice as soon as services are ending.
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Questions families ask
What if I think the hospital is discharging too soon?
Medicare says to follow An Important Message from Medicare no later than the day you are scheduled to leave, so the Quality Improvement Organization can review it. In New Jersey that organization is Commence Health, formerly Livanta.
Is the appeal line the same as the hospital’s phone?
No. The helpline 1-866-815-5440 is the QIO number published for New Jersey, not a number for this website and not a hospital.
Keep reading
Sources
- Medicare.gov, Fast appeals
The Important Message from Medicare in the hospital, and the timing of a fast appeal.
Source dated 2026-10-14
- Commence Health BFCC-QIO, formerly Livanta
Commence Health, formerly Livanta, takes New Jersey fast appeals. The flyer lists 1-866-815-5440.
Source dated 2026-10-15
- CMS contacts directory, Livanta BFCC-QIO
CMS lists Livanta as the BFCC-QIO contact for New Jersey with the same toll-free number.
Source dated 2026-10-15
- Medicare.gov, Your Discharge Planning Checklist
Asking for the appeal notice before you leave.
Source dated 2026-10-14