Ciox Health Charged $1.85M For Charging Patients Excessive Fees For Medical Records

Battles over medical records have become increasingly common over the past decade. The hospital believes that the medical records belong to them while you may be of the opinion that the medical records belong to you. Hospitals are allowed to charge processing fees to patients for their medical records. However, these fees must be reasonable. Hospitals have a huge amount of leverage and can essentially charge whatever they please if your life is on the line, and some have taken advantage of this fact.

The class-action lawsuit was spurred by a widow who lost her husband to lung cancer in 2020. The widow claimed that a radiologist could have failed to detect evidence of cancer in 2017 when the patient had undergone an X-ray. The widow filed a request with the hospital to get her husband’s medical records but was prevented from accessing those records.

Other patients have reported paying between $70 and $150 for medical records they needed while they were at urgent care or an emergency room. The company is only allowed to charge a “reasonable, cost-based fee” according to state laws. So, there are two elements to this suit. One involves the illegal price-gouging of medical records and the other involves the failure to disclose medical records in a timely manner.

The widow mentioned above said the Ciox told her they did not give electronic copies of medical records. Instead, they told her they would provide hard copies at a cost of 75 cents per page. Her attorney was able to register a class for litigants who had been overcharged or denied health care records. Her attorney believed that Ciox is stonewalling her until the statute of limitations on her medical malpractice lawsuit runs out.

Ciox was involved in other medical record lawsuits as well. One, filed by the federal government, claimed that Ciox falsified records related to their patients in order to justify overbilling Medicare and Medicaid.

Now what? 

Ciox owes money for every time they overcharged a patient for their medical records. Ciox did not admit wrongdoing, even though they violated state laws, and agreed to pay $1.85 million to cover the costs associated with their overcharging. Any claims related to Ciox must be submitted prior to January 27, 2023. The settlement will cover anyone who paid more than the legally allowed amount under state law.

The bottom line

 Companies like Ciox and related hospital entities harm patient care by depriving patients of their medical records when they need them most. Before you deal with a company with this history, you should be very careful. Gouging people in medical distress for their medical records does not show a commitment to patient care. This company’s priorities are really apparent.

Talk to an Atlanta, GA Medical Malpractice Attorney Today 

The Atlanta, GA medical malpractice attorneys at The Moses Law Firm represent the interests of those who have been injured due to substandard medical care. Call our Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers today to schedule a free consultation and we can begin discussing your lawsuit immediately.

Sources:

topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/money/fees/ciox-health-records-fees-1-85m-class-action-lawsuit-settlement/

hipaajournal.com/healthalliance-hospital-and-ciox-health-facing-class-action-medical-records-lawsuit/