Report a care or safety problem
Put it in writing. A written complaint about care is called a grievance. It asks the hospital for a written decision (42 CFR 482.13(a)(2)).
If the answer is no: complain to the next office
You can tell more than one office, and each office has its own rules.
- Step 1The hospital
Hospital patient relations
Write to the hospital patient relations office. Ask for a written answer with what they did and the date they finished.
Time to ask: No federal limit
The count starts: The day you complain.
- Step 2State health office
State health office
Report unsafe care to your state health department, which can inspect the hospital.
Time to ask: File soon (no deadline found)
- Step 3CMS, 1-800-MEDICARE
CMS (1-800-MEDICARE)
Call 1-800-MEDICARE if your state or plan does not respond. They track complaints and direct you.
Time to ask: No filing deadline was found, so call soon.
Every office you can tell, and what each can do
- The hospital
This office can: Must look into it and give a written answer with the steps taken, the result and the date it finished.
Go to the state, the review office or the accreditor. You do not have to wait.
No federal limit The count starts: The day you complain. The rule
- State health office
This office can: Inspects the place for breaking federal or state rules. Can cite it and ask for a plan to fix it.
If there is no answer, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and ask CMS.
File soon (no deadline found) The rule
- Medicare review office
This office can: Reviews whether the care met the standard and sends you a written finding. Ask for urgent handling if someone is in danger.
You can ask it to look again within 3 days, and that second answer is final.
Within 3 years of the care (review office Manual ch. 5) The count starts: The day of the care. The rule
- The accreditor
This office can: Reviews safety concerns about a hospital it accredits. May use them in its next visit.
Ask for a written reply, then tell the state health office.
No deadline found The rule
- State licensing board
This office can: Looks into one doctor or nurse, and can discipline a license.
Ask the board for the status in writing.
Each state sets its own time The rule
- CMS, 1-800-MEDICARE
This office can: Tracks complaints and oversees state offices, review offices and plans. Tells you where a complaint goes.
Use the steps on this page or the other complaint offices.
No filing deadline was found, so call soon. The rule
- Office for Civil Rights
This office can: Takes privacy complaints, including a refused record or a refused correction, and discrimination complaints. File within 180 days of when you knew.
There is no appeal, but you may also use the hospital, the state or a lawyer.
180 days from when you knew (160.306(b)(3)); good cause may extend The count starts: The day you knew, or should have known, about the problem. Good cause can extend it. The rule
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman
This office can: A free office that speaks for people in nursing homes and assisted living, with complaints and with being moved.
Ask for a written summary, then tell the state health office.
None The rule
- Emergency room complaint
This office can: The state or CMS can investigate an emergency room that turned you away or sent you out unstable.
A hurt patient can sue within 2 years. Talk to a lawyer or legal aid.
2 years from violation (1395dd(d)(2)(C)) The count starts: The day of the violation. The rule
If you complained to the Medicare review office, or an emergency room turned you away
Medicare review office quality complaint
- Step 1Medicare review office quality complaint
Medicare review office
Send a written complaint to the Medicare review office. It checks whether care met the standard.
Time to ask: Within 3 years of the care (review office Manual ch. 5)
The count starts: The day of the care.
- Step 2Ask the review office to look again
Medicare review office
If you disagree with their finding, ask them to review again within 3 days. Their second answer is final.
Time to ask: 3 calendar days from first notice, phone or writing (476.140(a)(1))
The count starts: The day the review office told you its first answer.
Emergency room
- Step 1Report the emergency room
State health office
If the ER turned you away, delayed your care or sent you out unsafe, report it to your state health office.
Time to ask: Complaint: no federal deadline stated; lawsuit within 2 years (1395dd(d)(2)(C))
- Step 2Court after an emergency room failure
Lawyer or legal aid
If you were harmed, you may sue a hospital that broke the emergency care law, and you have 2 years to do it. A lawyer can tell you how.
Time to ask: 2 years from violation (1395dd(d)(2)(C))
The count starts: The day of the violation.
First: the hospital
The hospital sets its own days, and must tell you what they are.Its answer must name a contact, the steps taken, the result and the date. Rules: 42 CFR §482.13(a)(2). Ask for the hospital's own grievance policy in writing.Then, or at the same time: outside the hospital
Quality of care: the Medicare review office. Licensing: your state health office. Privacy or records: the HHS Office for Civil Rights.You may tell more than one office. Each office has its own rules.Upload your medical documentation
The rules, in full
- Write it down, and ask for a written answer
To the hospital's patient relations office. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it. Writing it down is what makes it a grievance. Saying "this is a grievance" makes it easy to spot.
- State what happened, with dates, and what you want
One event per paragraph, citing the pages of the record that show it.
- For care concerns, also call the Medicare review office
The same organization that hears discharge appeals reviews quality of care. Independent physicians read the record.
- To report a license problem, find your state health office or board
Facilities and individual clinicians may have different complaint offices. Check the official directory for your state.
- Keep the written answer
It is a dated record outside the hospital's own file.
Offices by state and by problem: Who has to answer.
Official sources and timing details
Sources: 42 CFR §482.13(a)(2) (prompt resolution; the hospital's own process must state its time frames; written decision with contact, steps, result and date. No number of days in the rule itself); CMS S&C-05-42 (interpretive guidance: a written complaint is always a grievance; about 7 days for the response is appropriate; tell the patient if it will take longer). Checked 12 September 2026.