All Medicare records must be kept for how many years?

• A. 3 years
• B. 5 years
• C. 7 years
• D. 10 years

Answer: (C)

The number of years tested here is about how long Medicare records should be kept to stay compliant and ready for review. Seven years is the standard retention period for Medicare medical records. This window aligns with typical CMS audit look-backs and supports verifying services, billing, and patient care long after the encounter. It also gives boundary safety with privacy rules like HIPAA, which set a minimum retention period, while Medicare-specific guidance often errs on the side of keeping records a bit longer to cover audits and investigations.

If the patient was a minor when treated, many policies extend the retention to seven years after the patient turns 18 (or 21, depending on state law), so seven years remains a sensible default. Shorter periods, such as a few years, may not provide enough time to address potential audits or claims reviews. Longer periods aren’t typically required unless a state law or organizational policy demands it.