FHAS Payment Guide for IDR Fees

The payment of the certified Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) entity fee and IDR administrative fee is essential to moving a dispute forward in the federal IDR process. 

Each party must pay the fees (which the certified IDR entity will hold in a trust or an escrow account), when submitting its offer. Fee payments and offers are currently due no later than 10 business days after the finalization of the IDR entity. Finalization occurs when the entity requests payments and offers from each party. Payments should not be made prior to a request from the entity, as dispute eligibility is still being confirmed. If the certified IDR entity fee and administrative fee are not collected from a party, the certified IDR entity cannot accept the non-paying party’s offer per CMS.

To ensure every FHAS client meets this critical deadline, we created the following payment guide. It addresses some of the most common questions and concerns about the IDR fee payment process.   

What is the best payment option for me if I am paying for less than 10 disputes? 50 or more?

Payments through our website are limited to a single dispute or a single batched claim with multiple line items per transaction. If you would like to pay for more than one claim or multiple batched claims, it will require multiple website transactions. For this reason, we encourage any client needing to pay for multiple disputes to do so via ACH for added convenience. We are able to process as many dispute payments as necessary in a single ACH transaction. 

What is an E-check?

An E-check is an electronic check. It refers to a payment made via our website that uses a routing number and checking account number rather than a credit card. 

How do I send an E-check to FHAS to pay for my dispute?

An electronic check payment can be made for single dispute or batched dispute with multiple line items via our website at https://www.fhas.com/no-surprises-act/make-a-payment/. 

Where do I go to make a credit card payment?

A credit card payment can be made for single dispute or batched dispute with multiple line items via our website at https://www.fhas.com/no-surprises-act/make-a-payment/.

How do I make an ACH Payment?

Payment can be made via ACH by establishing FHAS as a vendor with your company for ACH. To do so, please send IDREpayments@fhas.com an email to receive our banking information, which can be used to add FHAS to your accounts payable processes. 

Can I pay via a paper check? Where do I make it out to and where do I send it?

Yes, you can pay your IDR fees with a paper check, however electronic payment (via ACH or our website) is preferred. Due to mailing delays, paying via paper check can cause your payments to arrive after the due date, which could result in default determinations against you.

If you wish to make payments by paper check it will need to be paid to the order of: Federal Hearings and Appeals Services, LLC and mailed to:

Federal Hearings and Appeals Services, LLC
117 West Main Street
Plymouth, PA  18651

My IDR offer was selected. When can I expect my IDR entity and administrative fee to be refunded?

Refunds of payments made via paper check or ACH are done every 2 weeks. Credit card and Electronic check refunds are done continuously on a rolling basis. Note that E-check refunds take approximately 10 days between when we initiate the refund (and you receive the emailed refund receipt) and when the funds actually get deposited in your bank account.

If I accidentally remit payment twice, what can I do to obtain a refund? 

Once our finance team applying payments notes the duplicate payment, it will automatically be marked as such and processed for refund. No action is required from the client, but you are welcome to alert us to the error by emailing IDREPayments@fhas.com. 

If you make an erroneous payment on our website, please wait for us to reject/refund it. DO NOT refuse the payment through your bank, as that will cause the payment to bounce, and our payment processor will refuse to process future payments from your account.

If I am running into problems making my IDR fee payments, who do I contact for assistance?

Our team is always available to answer your questions or assist you with making a payment by emailing IDREPayments@fhas.com.