CMS Pub. 100-01, ch. 7, § 30.40

After the claims determination payment action and posting to CMS records is completed, the

bills and related materials are accumulated in file segments and held before transfer to an

approved offsite storage facility (see §30.40.2). Claims records having current value and

continuing reference, or claims records otherwise flagged to indicate pending action, are retained

as long as the A/B MAC (B) or DME MAC finds necessary.

30.40.1 - Segment File Accumulation Period

(Rev. 124, Issued: 05-17-19, Effective: 06-18-19, Implementation: 06-18-19 The term Medicare beneficiary identifier (Mbi) is a general term describing a beneficiary's

Medicare identification number. For purposes of this manual, Medicare beneficiary identifier

references both the Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) and the Medicare Beneficiary

Identifier (MBI) during the new Medicare card transition period and after for certain business

areas that will continue to use the HICN as part of their processes.

In order to facilitate the transfer of material to an approved offsite storage facility, MACs

maintain the permanent claims records files in accumulation period segments, based on the

starting date of initial payment or denial. Each contractor may select an accumulation period

segment of from 6 months to 2 years in length after such starting date. The contractor may also

adopt one period of time on an ongoing basis, but a different period for the initial segment.

Contractors who have been authorized to microfilm/image claims records may be authorized to

shorten the segment file accumulation period. (See §30.50.)

After a file segment is closed, the contractor retains the records contained in that segment until

time to transfer them to an approved storage facility. (See §§30.40.2 and 30.40.3 for definition

of retention periods.)

EXCEPTION: Contractors who maintain total history files by individual Medicare beneficiary

identifier, name, or other sequence, may wish to operate under some procedure

other than by a file segment accumulation period.

Such alternative procedures may be used provided purging techniques to withdraw inactive

records are established which meet one of the following requirements:

1. They avoid costly and time consuming manual selection of material to be purged from each

folder.

2. Separators are used for each year's (or other period's) material within the history folder to

facilitate rapid selection.

3. The capability exists (e.g., computer prepared lists) to identify inactive cases in which no

action has been taken for 12 months or more for selection as purged segments to be transferred to

an approved storage facility when such a purge becomes necessary.

4. Periods for purging and transfer are carefully selected by studying rates of reference to claims

materials in order to select a realistic inactive period to avoid unnecessary recall from the storage

facility.

Although contractors who follow a purging procedure need not establish a standard retention

period, the establishment of one of these requirements provides them with the potential of

transferring inactive files to a storage facility if such a transfer should become desirable. When

such a purge is begun, the contractor should make no transfer to the storage facility until the

entire purging operation for the period is completed.