PATIENTS FACE FEE FOR RECORDS.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Most of the 135,000 patients who lost their medical insurance when Family Health Care Medical Group closed in October are being charged a $15 fee, plus 25 cents a page, to transfer their records to new physicians, officials said Monday. Former patients of Family Health Care are being notified by FYI "For your information." See digispeak. FYI - For Your Information Inc., a hospital services provider, that processing medical records will cost $15, plus 25 cents a page, as well as sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. and postage. For Gloria Hockett of Simi Valley, a Family Health Care patient for 10 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time bill could be costly. ``Why are we being taxed on this?'' she said. ``The costs are excessive. We could take our records to a (copying shop) and get them copied at a reduced rate and bring them back. We're put in the spot of being the victim. We're just caught in the middle.'' Officials at FYI Inc. in Calabasas referred inquiries to the corporate office in Dallas. Officials there did not return phone calls Monday. Family Health Care closed its eight clinics in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo in October after failing to obtain a loan to absorb at least half of its $6 million debt. It had 40 staff physicians and contracted for services from 160 other doctors, mostly specialists. Alamo Alamo Eighteenth-century mission in San Antonio, Texas, site of a historic siege of a small group of Texans by a Mexican army (1836) during the Texas war for independence from Mexico. Hill Medical Group has since taken over one of the four Simi Valley clinics, but its six doctors are not accepting patients with HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, coverage, forcing them to find doctors elsewhere. Only those patients being treated by Alamo do not have to pay the record-copying costs, said a spokeswoman for Family Health Care. Joy Katler-Ciancio, a Simi Valley resident who over the past 16 years relied on the Family Health Care Medical Group to treat her breast cancer, high blood pressure and arthritis, said she simply wants her records sent to her new medical provider. ``They kicked me out and now they are charging me for my records,'' Ciancio said. ``I'm very upset. It's not our fault they closed and we had to leave their practice. ``Why do they need my records if I'm not going to be seeing any of the doctors there any more? It will be a cold day in hell before they'll get my money.'' But state laws and contracts with health plan agencies mandate that Family Health Care maintain copies of all former patients' medical records for seven to 18 years, depending on the patients' ages and the type of treatment received. ``You can find somebody who will point their fingers and yell and scream,'' said Geoffrey Berman, the assignee assignee (assign) n. a person to whom property is transferred by sale or gift, particularly real property. (See: assign) ASSIGNEE. One to whom an assignment has been made. 2. overseeing liquidation of Family Health Care. ``(But) the old doctor is responsible to maintain the records. It's an emotional issue - 'this isn't fair' - but it's just a fact of life.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion