The agreement will eliminate current per-record fees and is expected to go into effect soon.
An agreement is being finalized that will eliminate medical record fees for thousands of Medicaid patients formerly treated at Crozer Health hospitals, according to an announcement from state Attorney General Dave Sunday.
“While our efforts to keep open Crozer facilities were unfortunately unsuccessful, we continue to advocate for impacted Pennsylvanians who are evaluating options for healthcare,” Sunday said on Wednesday. “Among those expected to benefit from this recent resolution are Medicaid patients who cannot afford unexpected fees just so they can have access to records needed to continue care elsewhere.”
Patients could pay up to hundreds of dollars in fees under the current pay-record structure.
The announcement from Sunday’s office comes after an agreement and subsequent ruling was made earlier this week by a federal bankruptcy court judge.
Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital, both located in Delaware County, closed their doors in the spring. They were both owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, a California for-profit healthcare company, who filed for bankruptcy.
The Philadelphia Business Journal reported earlier this week that there may be potential buyers for those properties.
Patients are in the process of finding new providers. Sunday’s office urged them to have their medical records during that process.
Lawmakers in the state’s fifth most populous county were sounding the alarm in the months leading up to the hospital’s closures and have rallied support for legislation that they believe would prevent other hospitals from closing in the state.
The attorney general is encouraging former Crozer patients to wait until the agreement is finalized in order to avoid paying fees for records.
Sunday’s office, which is a party in Prospect’s bankruptcy court proceedings, cited federal and state law in regulating fees for medical records leading up to the upcoming resolution that they say will “spare up to 43,000 patients of fees related to acquiring medical records.”
The Foundation for Delaware County has agreed to contribute funding to costs related to the records access, as well.
