The Case
On January 23, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling that will change the federal pricing structures for medical records requests from third parties and patient representatives. Since 2016, under the federal HITECH Act, medical records requests from third parties, such as law firms, insurance companies, and records retrieval companies were subject to the same price cap applied to direct patient requests–$6.50 for both electronic and paper records.
The January ruling in Ciox Health, LLC v. Azar held that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services improperly enacted the HITECH price cap and its application to third parties. Under current federal law, the price cap only applies to individual patients submitting a direct request for medical records to be delivered directly to them.
What This Means for You
Third parties can still request medical records on behalf of a client with the client’s written authorization. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the cost of retrieving those records. Unless and until HHS sets new regulations for pricing third-party medical records requests, the Records Company will rely upon regulations set by individual states to determine pricing for medical records retrieval. If you peruse our listing of state pricing regulations, you can see the fees vary widely from one state to another and vary further based on whether the records are stored in paper or electronic format. The only constant is that these fees typically exceed the $6.50 cap formerly set under HITECH.
Our Commitment to You
While these changes will likely increase the fees associated with retrieving medical records, The Records Company remains committed to providing the same efficient and cost-effective service our clients expect and depend upon. Our team of experts has years of experience navigating state regulations governing medical records, and we will continue to use that expertise to ensure the best prices available for every record we retrieve. Our client specialists stand ready to answer any questions you may have about how these changes will affect your requests and to assist you with any other needs you may have.