The date on my letter is wrong

The date on your letter is the date it was drafted, not the date you plan to mail it. If you mail it a few days after drafting, the letter date is close enough. If more than a few days have passed, update it.

Which date matters

Two dates matter to an insurer:

1. The date the letter was signed and mailed (your side)
2. The date the plan received the letter (their side)

The date printed on the letter itself is your reference to (1). The regulatory clock starts at (2), the delivery date proven by your certified-mail tracking.

The exact date on the printed letter is not load-bearing. What matters is:

• The date is close to the actual mailing date
• The date is not after the mailing date (that looks suspicious)
• The date is inside your appeal window

If the date is close to today

• Sign and mail without changing. Fine.

If the date is several days old

Cross it out neatly with a single pen line and write today's date next to it. Initial the change. This is the standard correction and every insurer accepts it.

If the date is wrong in a way that matters

Sometimes the date is wrong in a way that would harm your timeliness argument:

• The date on the letter is after the appeal window closed
• The date on the letter is significantly earlier than the actual events

In these cases, regenerate rather than hand-correct. Email support with your appeal ID and ask for regeneration with the correct date.

If the date of service or date of denial is wrong

That is different from the letter date and matters more. The date of service and date of denial reference specific events. Getting them wrong can look like the appeal is about a different claim.

To fix:

• Cross out the wrong date and write the correct date, initialed, if the letter has not been mailed yet
• If the letter has been mailed and the plan is confused, send a short correction letter (certified) noting the correct dates and referencing the tracking number of the original

If the plan's timely-filing window is close

If you are close to the plan's appeal deadline, the letter date needs to be inside the window. If it is not, correct by hand to today's date and mail immediately. Do not delay by a day just to regenerate.

After you correct

• Update your file copy with the same correction
• Photograph the corrected letter for your records before mailing
• Note in your file that you made the correction

What not to do

• Do not backdate the letter. That is fraud.
• Do not use whiteout. Corrections should be visible.
• Do not just print a second copy with a different date pretending the first did not exist. Keep both.

When to email support

• The date is wrong in a way that would prejudice your appeal
• You want the PDF regenerated rather than hand-corrected
• The date issue is combined with other errors (see My letter has a typo)

Include your appeal ID. We regenerate within one business day.