Medical Records Copying Charges
The fees doctors and hospitals charge us for copies of our clients’ medical records are sometimes very reasonable, but often they are outrageous. There are laws that cover the amount of money doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers can charge a patient (or their attorney or law firm) for copies of their medical records.
Federal Law
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) a covered entity can only charge “reasonable” cost-based fees for providing the medical records to patients. See 45 CFR 164.524(c). Arguably, fees that are not cost-based, even if permitted by a state statute, may be contrary to the HIPAA regulation and therefore preempted by this federal regulation.
Texas Law
Hospitals:
Texas Health and Safety Code §241.154:
A basic retrieval or processing fee not to exceed $42.54 for first 10 pages of records; then,
- $1.43 per page for pages 11-60
- $.71 per page for pages 61-400
- $.37 per page for any remaining pages
- Plus actual cost of mailing or shipping
- If the requested records are stored on any microform or other electronic medium, a retrieval or processing fee, which must include the fee for providing the first 10 pages of the copies and which may not exceed $64.81, and:
- $1.43 per page thereafter
- Actual cost of mailing, shipping, or otherwise delivering the provided copies
Doctors:
Title 22 Part 9 Chapter 165 Rule 165.2
No more than $25.00 for the first 20 pages; then,
- $.50 per page for every copy thereafter
- In addition, actual cost of mailing or shipping
- Also, a reasonable fee not to exceed $15.00 for executing affidavit.
Title 22 Texas Administrative Code §165.3
- Maximum charge for x-rays and diagnostic imaging studies $8.00 per copy
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