Geaney: New Law Lowers Cost of Obtaining Medical Records

Friday, October 14, 2022 | 0

We are living through a period of sharp inflation in almost everything from food and gasoline to automobiles and airfare, but one area where costs are sharply declining in New Jersey pertains to the cost of getting copies of medical records. 

John H. Geaney

Gov. Phil Murphy signed S 2253 on Sept. 22, 2022. This legislation dramatically lowers the costs that hospitals and physicians can charge for providing copies of medical records.  

We begin first with a key definition. The bill refers to a “Legally authorized representative.” That means the patient’s spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner; the patient’s immediate next of kin; the patient’s legal guardian; the patient’s attorney; the patient’s automobile insurer; or the patient’s worker’s compensation carrier, if the carrier is authorized to access to the patient’s treatment or billing records by contract or law, provided that access shall be limited only to the portion of the treatment or billing record that is relevant to the specific work-related incident at issue in the workers' compensation claim.

Here are the allowable fees for a legally authorized representative under the new law:

• Medical records in paper, electronic format, microfilm or microfiche — no more than $1 per page — capped at $50 per individual admission or patient record.
• No charge for copies of billing records.
• Reproduction of X-rays shall be no more than $15 per printed image or $30 per CD or DVD — plus an administrative fee of $10.
• Search fees can be no more than $20 per request.
• Certification fees can be no more than $10 per certification.
• Delivery fees are at cost, plus sales tax, if applicable.

“Authorized third party” means a third party, who is not a legally authorized representative of the patient, with a valid authorization, subpoena, legal process or court order granting access to a patient’s medical or billing records.

Here are the allowable fees for authorized third parties under the new law:

• Medical and billing records not on microfilm/microfiche — no more than $1 per page — no cap.
• Records on microfilm/microfiche — $1.50 per image — no cap.
• Reproduction of X-rays shall be no more than $15 per printed image or $30 per CD or DVD — plus an administrative fee of $10.
• Search fees can be no more than $20 per request.
• Certification fees can be no more than $10 per certification.
• Delivery fees are at cost, plus sales tax, if applicable.

Before passage of this new legislation, providers could charge $1 per page up to $125 for copies plus a search fee of up to $25. The new $50 cap represents a significant cost reduction. Workers’ compensation practitioners need to know about this legislation because it has been routine to obtain requests for records that amount to hundreds of dollars. The law is so new that medical providers and hospitals may not even be aware of the changes. 

Our thanks to Francine Viden, our firm’s excellent librarian, for obtaining the information and organizing the salient changes in the law.

John H. Geaney is an attorney, executive committee member and shareholder with Capehart Scatchard, a defense law firm in New Jersey. This post appears with permission from Geaney's New Jersey Workers' Comp Blog.