What do you do with all your EOB's

abpdjs

ya know for the insurance company.   i almost never need them or look at them.  i have a billjillion!!!!  do you throw them away?

momofolivia

OK i'll be the idiot....

What's an EOB?

Halo79RN

I save them for a few years.. every time we move I shred a ton of 'em. 

neverblushed

I kept these for a long time until I finally realized there was no reason to hold onto them.

Now DH takes them to work to be shredded and disposed of.

ILoveBoys

momofolivia:

OK i'll be the idiot....

What's an EOB?

Estimation Of Benefits (I think). It's the piece of paper the insurance company sends you after a doctor's visit or something. It tells you how much has been covered by insurance and (if anything) how much your estimated cost will be.

jessica1080

It is an Explanation of Benefits.  Most people never pay enough in a single year out of pocket to take off on their taxes (unless you had a NICU baby!).  That is the only use I can think of for them.  If you pay over a certain percent of your total income you can tax deduct it and that would be your "receipt"...

abpdjs

explanation of benefits: honestly if i have a question or need to compare a bill i will call and get what i need.  i am junking these things.

mrshutch

I hold on to them for about a year and then shred the whole pile. We have no use for them- I just keep them for the immediate future in case a question comes up.

FSUSammy

We keep them and file them away. We've actually experienced a lot of doctor's offices and facilities that seriously can bill you up to 7 years after your procedure so by then you are likely to forget what your insurance covered. It's crazy that they can get away with that but they can. Also we've experienced facilities like Quest that bill incorrectly. Having the EOB has helped save us money in the end.

kellnbri

after having DS I now hold on to them for a year.  We had a lot of problems with the insurance companies (I had 2 at the time...primary and secondary).  8 months after he was born we got a collections notice because the insurance didn't pay.  Apparently the hospital had screwed up my insurance paperwork and filed first with my secondary insurance and they refused to pay because they knew I had a primary insurance (which in fact was the same company).  It was a big mess and it wasn't until DS was about a year old that it was settled.  I needed those copies of the EOB as proof as to what was paid. 

GLynn2009

I would keep them for one year. I was billed again for the birth of my daughter one year later. I had the EOB and it was taken care of.

brightning

I have a file for them. Sometimes I don't even bother to open them. Whenever we change insurance (with DH's company, it's been almost annually), I shred them all.

HawaiiBrideGrm

Dude, I shred mine almost instantly, after reading them and making sure we actually attended the visit specified, etc. No reason for me to keep them. If I ever need proof, I can call my ins co and get another copy. I have an entire file cabinet of papers I have to keep track of already, so these things get shredded;)

HawaiiBrideGrm

(duplicate post: won't let me delete... sorry:(