NOTICES

Rate Adjustment

[32 Pa.B. 6004]

   Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6152 (relating to subpoena of records), the Secretary of Health (Secretary) is directed to adjust annually the amounts which may be charged by a health care facility or health care provider upon receipt of a request or subpoena for production of medical charges or records. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6152.1 (relating to limit on changes), the Secretary is directed to make a similar adjustment to the flat fee which may be charged by a health care facility or health care provider for the expense of reproducing medical charts or records where the request is: (1) for the purpose of supporting a claim or appeal under the Social Security Act or any Federal or State financial needs based benefit program; or (2) made by a district attorney.

   The Secretary is directed to base these adjustments on the most recent changes in the consumer price index reported annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. For the annual period of October 30, 2001, through October 30, 2002, the consumer price index was 2.0%.

   Accordingly, the Secretary provides notice that, effective January 1, 2003, the following payments may be charged by a health care facility or health care provider for production of records in response to subpoena or request:

Search and retrieval of records:	Not to Exceed: $16.56
Amount charged per page for pages 1-20	$  1.11
Amount charged per page for pages 21-60	$    .84
Amount charged per page for pages 61-end	$    .29
Amount charged per page for microfilm copies	$  1.65
Flat fee, per request, for production of records to support claims under Social Security Act or claims under other Federal or State financial needs based benefit programs	$20.98
Flat fee, per request, for supplying records requested by a district attorney	$16.56

   In addition to the amounts listed previously, charges may also be assessed for the actual cost of postage, shipping and delivery of the requested records.

   The Department of Health (Department) has received numerous inquiries concerning specific requests and whether these charges apply to those requests. The duty of the Department is to update these charges annually, it is not empowered to enforce these charges or to resolve disputes concerning them. Individuals with questions concerning the applicability of these charges to specific records requests should contact private counsel.

   Questions or inquiries concerning this notice should be directed to James T. Steele, Jr., Deputy Chief Counsel, Room 825 Health and Welfare Building, P. O. Box 90, Harrisburg, PA 17108, (717)-783-2500.

   Persons with a disability who require an alternative format of this document or who wish to comment in an alternative format (for example, large print, audiotape or Braille) should contact Donald Hossler, Bureau of Human Resources, (717) 783-0296 or the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Services at (800) 654-5984 [TT] or V/TT (717) 783-6514 for speech and/or hearing impaired persons.

ROBERT S. ZIMMERMAN, Jr.,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-2186. Filed for public inspection December 6, 2002, 9:00 a.m.]

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