Florida doctors ask for fee increase for making copies

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Florida doctors ask for fee increase for making copies

By Bob LaMendola | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Florida doctors are asking the state to sharply increase the amount they can charge patients for copies of their medical records, a request that has brought protests from consumer advocates and malpractice lawyers.Saying their costs are rising faster than their incomes, doctors want to charge $1 a page for copying patient files. They can now collect $1 a page for the first 25 pages and 25 cents each after that, a fee that was set in 1988.A patient with 50 pages of records would pay a $50 copying fee instead of $31.25 now; one with 100 pages would pay $100 instead of $43.75.

The increase would hit hardest among people already facing high medical costs: seniors and patients with complex diseases, chronic illnesses, disabilities and mental illness, many of whom have thick files that get copied often, said Barbara DeVane, secretary of the Wellington-based Florida Alliance for Retired Americans."If you have a lot of records, the price could double or worse," said DeVane, whose group is fighting the increase. "You can go to Kinko's and make copies for what, 5 cents a page? I know it takes time [for a physician's staff] to make the copies, but that much time?"The increase would make Florida's fee 10th highest in the country for a 50-page file, based on fee schedules from 40 states compiled by North Carolina attorney Lamb. At present, 28 of the 40 states have higher fees than Florida.Medical files usually get copied when patients see a new specialist or provider, which can be common for those with serious illnesses. Health insurance seldom pays, although some physicians do not charge individuals, doctors said.The Florida Medical Association requested the fee hike in October before the Florida Board of Medicine, which oversees and disciplines doctors and sets the fee. Of 14 board members, 12 are doctors. A board committee backed the idea on Nov. 29 but a final action is pending.Doctors need the increase because as costs have risen, they may be losing money making copies, said Dr. DeGennaro, a Fort Lauderdale surgeon and treasurer of the medical association."We're not looking to make a profit, just cover our costs," he said. "We don't want to look like we're pinching pennies but pennies add up to dollars. It becomes a burden."Some medical offices must hire a staffer just to make copies, said Nuland, an attorney for the American College of Physicians in Florida, which backs the increase.Lawyers gathering copies of medical files for malpractice suits may try to save money by getting them from doctors, because the state lets hospitals charge $1 a page, Nuland said.But malpractice attorneys branded the fee increase as a backdoor way for doctors to fend off lawsuits, by discouraging patients and lawyers from pursuing borderline cases."Whatever they can do to make it harder and keep you from going forward, they may do it," said Yaffa, a Boca Raton attorney. Nuland denied the assertion.Officials of the Florida Department of Health, who regulate doctors, declined to take a position but had told the medical board rules panel that the fee hike would add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state's costs of investigating doctor disciplinary cases.The rules panel favored the increase, but set a $25 maximum on how much the state pays for a file, and also recommended that doctors waive copying fees for patients if possible. The panel is set for a final vote in about six weeks, followed by a public comment period before the issue goes to the full medical board.The retiree group is organizing opposition among its 213,000 members, said President Tony Fransetta of Wellington."The public will hate this. They're penalizing a person who has a need to change doctors and get his or her records," Fransetta said. "They could be in for a real public relations nightmare."Bob LaMendola can be reached at blamendola@... or 954-356-4526 or 561-243-6600, ext. 4526.

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