The Three Largest Medicare Advantage Organizations Denied Requests For Long-Term Acute Care & Inpatient Rehabilitation At Some Of The Highest Rates

The report was issued by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 11, 2026. The OIG reviewed prior authorization requests processed during June 2024 by the 19 largest Medicare Advantage parent organizations (MAOs) by enrollment. Together, the plans covered 29.3 million beneficiaries, representing approximately 86% of all Medicare Advantage enrollment at that time. For prior authorization requests processed during June 2024, MAOs denied 65% of prior authorization requests for admission to long-term care hospitals (LTCH) and 54% of requests for admission to intermediate rehabilitation facilities (IRF . . .