South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) signed a law that caps the amount healthcare providers can charge patients for digital and paper copies of their medical records.
According to the new law, providers can charge no more than $150 per electronic medical record request, regardless of the number of records requested or the number of times the patient has been admitted to a healthcare facility.
The $150 maximum charge is broken down by 65 cents per page for the first 30 pages in an electronic format, 50 cents per page for all other pages in an electronic format and a maximum $25 clerical fee for searching and handling.
For paper medical record requests, providers can charge no more than $200 per hospital admission. This charge is broken down in the same way for electronic files, though patients with multiple admissions must pay the print fee for each admission.
In the event records are requested in either electronic or print format and no records are found, providers can still charge the search and handling fee.
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