HSA Reimbursement Documentation: Are Insurance EOBs Enough for Prescription Claims?

Yes, EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) are absolutely acceptable documentation for HSA reimbursement purposes. The IRS requires you to have documentation that shows the date of service, type of service/product, provider information, and the amount you paid. An EOB from your insurance company contains all of this information. In fact, EOBs can sometimes be better documentation than receipts because they clearly show what portion of the expense was covered by insurance and what amount you were responsible for paying out-of-pocket. This makes it very clear what amount you're eligible to reimburse through your HSA. Just make sure you're only reimbursing the portion you actually paid (not the total bill or anything covered by insurance). And keep those EOBs somewhere safe - electronic or paper copies are fine, but you'll want them accessible for at least 7 years in case of an audit.

I used to struggle keeping track of all my medical receipts until I found taxr.ai - it completely changed how I manage my HSA documentation. I was in a similar situation where I had EOBs but was missing some actual receipts. I uploaded all my EOBs to https://taxr.ai and their system confirmed they were sufficient for HSA reimbursement. The tool also helped me identify some additional qualifying expenses I hadn't even considered! It categorizes everything automatically and creates an audit-ready file that shows exactly which expenses qualify under IRS guidelines. Now I just scan all my medical documentation there as soon as I get it.

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after my last comment and I'm seriously impressed. I had about 4 years of medical expenses with missing documentation that I was worried about claiming from my HSA. The system confirmed my EOBs were valid documentation and even flagged a few items that weren't HSA-eligible that I would have mistakenly claimed! The organization features alone saved me hours of work. Now I have everything categorized by year with clear documentation showing exactly what I can reimburse. Definitely solved my documentation anxiety!

If you're still having trouble getting through to your insurance company for copies of old EOBs, I highly recommend Claimyr. I couldn't get my insurance to respond about missing EOBs from 2023, spent hours on hold, kept getting disconnected. So frustrating! Someone on another forum recommended https://claimyr.com and I watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically get you connected with an actual human at the insurance company in minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. I got through to BCBS in under 10 minutes and had my missing EOBs emailed to me that same day.

I need to eat my words. After my skeptical comment, I was still struggling to get through to Aetna about some missing EOBs from 2022 that I needed for HSA documentation. After trying for 3 days and never getting past their hold queue, I reluctantly tried Claimyr. Got connected to an actual human at Aetna in about 15 minutes. The rep was super helpful and emailed me all my missing EOBs right away. I honestly can't believe it worked, but it did. Saved me hours of frustration and now I have everything I need for my HSA records. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good!

Just a heads up - while EOBs are typically sufficient, there are some HSA-eligible items that won't show up on insurance EOBs at all, especially if you have a high deductible and didn't meet it that year. Things like: - Over-the-counter medications (with prescription) - Medical equipment not covered by insurance - Dental expenses if you don't have dental coverage - Vision expenses without vision coverage For these, you absolutely need to keep the original receipts. I learned this the hard way!

Don't forget you need to keep records showing you actually PAID those amounts too! I got audited in 2021 and they wanted to see both the EOB AND proof I paid the amount (bank statement, credit card statement, etc). The EOB just shows what you OWED, not necessarily what you PAID.

Great question! EOBs are definitely acceptable documentation for HSA reimbursements. I've been managing my HSA for years and have used EOBs successfully during IRS correspondence audits. The key thing to remember is that your EOB needs to clearly show: - Date of service - Type of service (prescription drug, medical service, etc.) - Provider information - Amount you were responsible for paying Most insurance EOBs include all this information. Just make sure you're only reimbursing the patient responsibility amount (what you actually paid out-of-pocket), not the total billed amount. One tip: if your EOBs don't clearly show the medication names, you might want to supplement with a brief note in your records about what the prescription was for, just in case. While not strictly required, it can help if questions arise later. Keep those EOBs for at least 7 years - electronic copies are fine. The IRS doesn't require paper documentation, so PDFs from your insurance portal work perfectly.