Medical Record Costs Now Regulated in Delaware

Until recently, residents of Delaware have had no specific statute or regulation to control the cost of obtaining medical records from their physicians. This has caused some outrageous charges when individuals have attempted to obtain copies of their medical records. It has not been unheard of for many doctor’s offices to charge as much as $75.00 for one page of medical records. Effective November 11, 2009, this changed. The Board of Medical Practice enacted a new Administrative Regulation that sets the rate that patients can be charged for obtaining their own medical records.

The following fee schedule has been established by the new Administrative Regulation (24 DE Admin. Code 1700, Sec. 30):

30.1 A patient requesting of a copy of his or her own medical records to be transferred to another physician or to be obtained on their own behalf may be charged a reasonable fee not to exceed the fees set forth in the schedule below, excluding the actual cost of postage or shipping if the records are mailed:

$2.00 per page for pages 1-10
$1.00 per page for pages 11-20
$0.90 per page for pages 21-60
$0.50 per page for pages 61 and above

30.2 The fees set forth in section 30.1 above shall apply whether the records are produced in paper or electronic format.

30.3 The full cost of reproduction may be charged for copies of records not susceptible to photostatic reproduction, such as radiology films, models, photographs or fetal monitoring strips.

30.4 Payment of all costs may be required in advance of release of the records except for records requested to make or complete an application for a disability benefits program.

What is important to note about this regulation is that the fee schedule only applies when a patient requests a copy of his or her own medical records. If an attorney requests records on your behalf, doctors are permitted to charge a higher rate.

This fee schedule is still not ideal for individuals that are applying for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income payments. For example, under the new fee schedule, doctors are permitted to charge the following rates based on the number of pages of records:

Pages	Allowable Fee
10	$20.00
25	$34.50
50	$57.00
75	$73.50
100	$86.00

These fees can still result in substantial costs in just obtaining medical documentation that is required to pursue your claim. There is no maximum fee that your doctor can charge you for your records, as long as he or she adheres to the fee schedule. For comparison, Pennsylvania has a flat fee charge for production of records to support any claim under Social Security. The Pennsylvania flat rate in 2009 is $25.09. If your doctor has more than 15 pages of records in Delaware, you would exceed the Pennsylvania flat rate.

The most helpful part of the new regulation is that doctors are not permitted to require prepayment for records to be used for completing a disability application. This means that if you notify your doctor that you need records to pursue Social Security Disability, they are required to provide the records even if you cannot immediately pay the costs. (You would still be responsible for repaying the costs, your doctor is simply required to release the records prior to receiving payment.)

Although the new regulation is a good start, it is important that you still express your concern about medical record costs to your State Representative, State Senator, and the Board of Medical Practice. If your physician refuses to adhere to this fee structure, and you are Delaware Resident, it would also be important to notify the Board of Medical Practice of your physician’s failure to comply with the regulations.

Relevant Links:

This article was written by Steven Butler. Steven is a partner at Linarducci & Butler, PA and his practice is limited to Social Security Disability/SSI claims. Steven offers free initial consultations for Social Security Disability/SSI claims to residents of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. To schedule a consultation with Steven, please use the Linarducci & Butler Contact Form or call 302-613-0707 to schedule an appointment.