Three New York hospitals and an information services company are at the center of a class-action lawsuit alleging they engaged in price fixing in the production of patient medical records, according to a report by Law360.
When hospitals receive requests for patient medical records, the records are then copied, either by the hospital or an outside company employed by the hospital. While there is a monetary fee for records, New York state law as well as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or (HIPPA), does not allow healthcare providers or their associates to profit from the production of records. The group on trial is alleged to have done just that, and to the tune of $7 million in 2013 alone.
The class-action suit represents 100 patients who were allegedly overcharged and claims that Mount Sinai Hospital, Monetefiore Medical Group, Beth Israel Medical Center and Healthport Technologies overcharged the patients by as much as 50 cents per page.
