How Long to Keep Medical Billing Records?

Maintaining medical billing records is important for managing personal finances and understanding healthcare costs. These documents provide a clear financial history of services received and payments made, helping individuals verify charges and track spending.

Identifying Medical Billing Records

Medical billing records encompass various documents detailing healthcare services and financial transactions. A primary document is the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from an insurance company, outlining covered services, the amount paid by the insurer, and your remaining responsibility. An EOB is a summary of how your insurance processed a claim, not a bill.

Actual medical bills from healthcare providers specify services rendered and total charges. Payment receipts confirm out-of-pocket amounts for deductibles, co-pays, or services not covered by insurance. Records of communication, including letters or emails regarding billing inquiries or disputes, are also part of your medical billing records. These documents are important for reconciling accounts and ensuring all payments are correctly applied.

Common Retention Guidelines

For routine financial tracking and reconciliation, a general guideline suggests keeping medical billing records for one to three years after payment or dispute resolution. This timeframe allows individuals to review annual health expenses and confirm that all payments are accounted for and insurance benefits properly allocated. It also provides a buffer for any late inquiries from insurance companies regarding services or medication expenses.

If bills are fully paid and no further treatment for a specific condition is ongoing, a one-year retention period for general medical bills and EOBs is often sufficient. This common practice allows for basic verification of services and payments. However, specific situations may necessitate retaining these documents for longer periods.

Situations Requiring Longer Retention

Certain circumstances require retaining medical billing records for extended periods beyond general guidelines. For tax purposes, if you itemize deductions and include medical expenses, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) generally recommends keeping these records for up to seven years. This period aligns with the IRS’s statute of limitations for auditing tax returns, ensuring you can substantiate medical expense deductions. To qualify, expenses must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) and not be reimbursed by insurance.

For insurance disputes or appeals, retaining all relevant medical billing records, including EOBs and correspondence, is important until the claim is fully resolved and any appeal periods have passed. These documents serve as evidence to support your position. Individuals managing chronic conditions or continuous medical treatment should consider keeping their records and bills for longer periods, potentially indefinitely. This ensures a detailed, ongoing record of treatments and expenditures for managing ongoing healthcare needs or for potential legal considerations, such as personal injury lawsuits. For estate planning or after a patient’s death, records may need to be retained for several years, typically seven to ten, to address potential legal issues or claims.

Organizing and Storing Records

Effective organization and secure storage of medical billing records are important for easy access and protection of sensitive information. For physical records, a structured filing system is beneficial. Organize documents by year and then by category, such as doctor visits, tests, and prescriptions, to streamline retrieval. Clear labeling of folders and storing them in a secure location, like a locked filing cabinet, helps maintain order and privacy.

For digital records, scanning physical documents and saving them to a computer or cloud storage offers accessibility and reduces physical clutter. Utilizing password protection for digital files and ensuring regular backups to an external drive or a secure cloud service are important steps to prevent data loss and unauthorized access. Many healthcare providers and insurance companies offer online portals to access and manage digital copies of EOBs and bills, further simplifying record-keeping.