NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Amendments to Charges
for Medical
Records
[41 Pa.B. 6453]
[Saturday, December 3, 2011]
Under 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 6152
and 6155 (relating to
subpoena of records; and rights of patients), the Secretary of
Health
(Secretary) is directed to adjust annually the amounts which may
be charged by
a health care facility or health care provider upon receipt of a
request or
subpoena for production of medical charts or records. These
charges apply to
any request for a copy of a medical chart or record except as
follows:
(1) Flat
fees (as listed in this
notice) apply to amounts that may be charged by a health care
facility or
health care provider when copying medical charges or records
either: (a) for
the purpose of supporting any claim or appeal under the Social
Security Act or
any Federal or State financial needs based program; or (b) for a
district attorney.
(2) An
insurer shall not be
required to pay for copies of medical records required to
validate medical
services for which reimbursement is sought under an insurance
contract, except
as provided in: (a) the Worker's Compensation Act (77 P. S. §§ 1—1041.1
and
2501—2506) and the regulations promulgated thereunder; (b) 75
Pa.C.S.
Chapter 17 (relating to financial responsibility) and the
regulations
promulgated thereunder; or (c) a contract between an insurer and
any other
party.
The charges listed
in this notice do not apply to an X-ray film or any other
portion of a medical
record which is not susceptible to photostatic reproduction.
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6152.1
(relating to limit on
charges), the Secretary is directed to make a similar adjustment
to the flat
fee which may be charged by a health care facility or health
care provider for
the expense of reproducing medical charts or records when the
request is: (1)
for the purpose of supporting a claim or appeal under the Social
Security Act
or any Federal or State financial needs based benefit program;
or (2) made by a
district attorney.
The Secretary is
directed to base these adjustments on the most recent changes in
the Consumer
Price Index reported annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the United States
Department of Labor. For the annual period of October 31, 2010,
through October
31, 2011, the Consumer Price Index was 3.5%.
Accordingly, the
Secretary provides notice that, effective January 1, 2012, the
following fees
may be charged by a health care facility or health care provider
for production
of records in response to subpoena or request:
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Not to Exceed
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Amount charged
per page for pages 1—20
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$ 1.39
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Amount charged
per page for pages 21—60
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$ 1.03
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Amount charged
per page for pages 61—end
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$ 0.34
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Amount charged
per page for microfilm copies
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$ 2.04
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Flat fee for
production of records to support any claim under Social
Security or any Federal or State financial needs based
program
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$26.12
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Flat fee for
supplying records requested by a district attorney
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$20.62
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* Search and retrieval of
records
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$20.62
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In addition to the
amounts listed previously, charges may also be assessed for the
actual cost of postage,
shipping and delivery of the requested records.
The Department is
not authorized to enforce these charges.
Questions or
inquiries concerning this notice should be sent to James T.
Steele, Jr., Deputy
Chief Counsel, Department of Health, Office of Legal Counsel,
Room 825, Health
and Welfare Building, 625 Forster Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120,
(717) 783-2500.
Persons with a
disability who require an alternative format of this notice (for
example, large
print, audiotape, Braille) should contact James T. Steele, Jr.
at the address
or phone number listed previously, or for speech and/or hearing
impaired
persons V/TT (717) 783-6514, or the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay
Services at
(800) 654-5984.
*Note: Federal
regulations enacted
under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act at
45 CFR Parts
160—164 state that covered entities may charge a reasonable cost
based fee that
includes only the cost of copying, postage and summarizing the
information (if
the individual has agreed to receive a summary) when providing
individuals
access to their medical records. The United States Department of
Health and
Human Services has stated that the fees may not include costs
associated with
searching for and retrieving the requested information. For
further clarification
on this issue, inquiries should be directed to the Office of
Civil Rights,
United States Department of Health and Human Services, 200
Independence Avenue,
S.W., Room 509F, HHH Building, Washington, D.C. 20201, (866)
627-7748, http://www.
hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.
ELI N. AVILA, MD, JD,
MPH, FCLM,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No.
11-2062. Filed for
public inspection December 2, 2011, 9:00 a.m.]
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