Like a hearing appeal, a hearing review is an appeal to overturn a decision on a denied program application, product delivery case, issue case, or prior appeal. Unlike a hearing appeal, hearing review decisions are not decided by a hearing official, and only certain case participants can attend a hearing review. A hearing review is sometimes referred to as an appeals council review. The appeals council is an impartial committee made up of hearing reviewers who are not involved in any previous decisions on the case. The hearing reviewers are responsible for reaching a decision or decisions on the issues presented at the hearing. Once a decision is reached at the hearing, the decision information is entered by the hearing reviewers.
The main difference between a hearing appeal and a hearing review appeal is that a hearing appeal is overseen by one hearing official whereas a hearing review is conducted by one or more hearing reviewers.
Another difference between a hearing review and a hearing appeal involves the parties invited to attend the hearings. Representatives are the only case participants invited to attend a hearing review.